


Waste Not, Want Not

by holyfudgemonkeys (erraticallyinspired)



Series: WNWN [1]
Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: (as in James!Lancelot), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Britpicking is welcome, Canonical Character Death, Eggsy and Percival become bros, Eggsy is Bors not Galahad, Eggsy's sister is Rian here btw, Harry as Arthur, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Britpicked, Oblivious Eggsy, Oblivious Harry, Pining, Will eventually have three endings (see fic summary for details), also I'm incredibly American so the accents are going to be awful, as a reference to the original comic, possibly infrequent updates due to school, rating will go up if necessary, the hartwin might take a while fyi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:50:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 42,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3721006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erraticallyinspired/pseuds/holyfudgemonkeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's alive, and Eggsy is the last to know about it. Pissed off and feeling betrayed, he takes a long term mission with Percival, who is apparently good at giving advice.</p><p> </p><p>(This fic will have 3 endings in total - the main Hartwin ending as well as a Harry/Eggsy/Percival ending and a Eggsy/Percival ending.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to America

"Arthur chose well," Percival says, head tilted as he absentmindedly reloads his gun.

Eggsy drops his now-almost-second-nature 'gentlemanly' posture and just gives the man a look, because it's the first thing the other agent has said to him out of his undercover identity the whole mission. _The first fucking thing._

And they've been at it for three days.

"Wot? I'll 'ave you know, I chose this mission myself, bruv," he bites out after a minute, not bothering to be careful with his words. If Percival thought it was okay to drop cover, then Eggsy would take a break, too. Besides, Harry didn't even want to send him on this. Merlin and Lancelot were only reluctantly supportive. Saving the world together tended to forge connections, and they had his back without him needing to explain what he was sure was _really_ fucking obvious. (Even though the both of them _had fucking lied to him_ about Harry for a few _months_. Eggsy's forgiven them. Mostly. Just a tiny grudge left, is all. It's not a good idea to be in the shit with the bloke who watches over your missions and backs you up, yeah? And Lancelot he might have to work with at some point.)

Percival quirks an eyebrow but tucks his gun away as they make it to the car, which is just fine with Eggsy, because he doesn't, _doesn't_ want to talk about Harry right now.

What's best for him is a long, possibly permanent, break from everything Harry Hart and Arthur and even Galahad related for the foreseeable future. No offense to whomever the fuck they pick to be the new Galahad of course, but he's just not in the mood to get close to another one.

Coming to America with Percival still feels like the best decision he's made in a long time, even if it does mean he has to speak like an American and do odd jobs around the neighborhood to gather intel. (Which _yeah_ , he fucking hates mowing lawns, but he gets to keep the money it puts in his pocket. He'll be able to buy Rian some toys with money he _hasn't_ earned through killing, and if that isn't ace, he doesn't know what is.) So he's in Ohio of all places. It doesn't bother him; he'd rather take down another gang of the corrupted businessman's goons with a single clip of bullets than spend another moment in the Kingsman conference room with the _others_.

Percival tosses him a tub of bruise salve, and he catches it with a tired hand. 

 

They're supposed to be suburban father and son -- Jack and Eddie Richards, 46 and 17 years old respectively -- so Eggsy wears slightly nicer clothes than he usually does in his spare time, and Percival ditches the suits for unfitted ones, often forgoing the jacket and tie. (The tailor had just _loved_ making those.) All of their clothes have some sort of bulletproof element to them, though, and the familiar fit and feel of his clothes means Eggsy feels comfortable in his fake identity. Despite his doubts, Percival plays his own part fairly well, hanging around him like he wants to get closer but keeping his distance like a parent unsure of how to approach their kid. Which is exactly what he's supposed to be.

It sounds like a shitty TV drama -- mum dies, son goes to live with his long-lost da', who didn't know the kid existed until they read the will -- but their new neighbors eat it up. By the end of the first week, they have two casseroles and a plate of biscuits from the sympathetic women on the block. Percival won't let him touch them.

"C'mon, Perc'. Just one biscuit."

"Bors," the man says sternly. A nifty little gadget of Merlin's design is wired into the wall socket, sending out a signal that fries bugs, so they're ok to drop cover in the deeper rooms of the house.

"Just a nibble, yeah?"

"A Kingsman agent --"

"One bloody biscuit ain' gonna kill me, _Pops_."

Percival looks him down, and how _the fuck_ does Lancelot spend any time in his presence without pissing her trousers? ( _Because she's_ Rox', _tha's why_ , he thinks privately.)

"You'll spoil your dinner, _Son_."

He doesn't sputter. No, nope, but regardless, he's glad the glasses are off.

" _Did you_ \- did you just make _a joke?_ "

"I've been known to."

"Yeah, bu--"

"A gentleman is charming, Bors."

Apparently a gentleman can cook, too, because Percival dishes up some sort of pot roast thing that's been cooking all day, and the taste of it distracts Eggsy from bothering him more.

 

He's sore all over. Bulletproof fabric is great and all, but it doesn't stop the bruises, so Eggsy has a good few large ones on his back, his stomach, his right leg. They fucking _hurt_ , too, even after they're covered in a liberal amount of bruise salve.

Maybe that's why he screams aloud after the nightmares that night.

They're old news now, and a few months of training himself to breathe it out have him taking raspy gasps of air most nights, but his thrashing is agony itself with the bruises. Usually, the injuries are not this bad. (Or, at least, the drugs are usually stronger than ibuprofen. He can't afford to be fuzzy in the middle of a long term mission.)

"Bors," comes a soft, weary, but alert voice from the doorway. 

Eggsy rolls over and waves him off.

"It might help to put new salve on."

"Yeah," he grits out, moving to sit up.

"Bors," the voice says again. "Stay down."

Just as well, because he can barely move. "Good idea, Perc'."

Warm, gun-calloused hands work at pulling his shirt and bandages off, set it aside, and pull the tub out of the nightstand. 

"I can do it myself. Jus' give me the tub, yeah?"

"You'll heal faster if you don't push yourself," Percival scolds. He drags a few fingers through the salve and carefully, platonically massages it into Eggsy's chest before coaxing him over onto his stomach to finish and tugging his shirt back on. It all reminds Eggsy of the way his mum acted whenever he was sick (before Dean, of course), and the thought makes him smile a bit into the pillow. He misses her, but if all goes well, he'll be back in within a month or two. "A Kingsman agent isn't ashamed to ask for help if they need it. Harry wasn't the best teacher for that, I suppose."

"Arthur wasn' the best teacher for loads of things," he says tiredly. "You can go. I'll be fine."

A nod in the dark, silent footsteps out down the hall.

"Dammit, 'Arry," Eggsy mumbles into his pillow, his eyes tired but his mind awake.

 

Two cups of tea rest on the kitchen island in the morning. The ceramic is hot to the touch, but the calluses on his hands make it more bearable when he downs a good third of one of them right away. Not that it does anything for his throat. Searing, the tea settles to burn warmly in his stomach, its odd taste lingering on his tongue. He looks up and sees Percival cracking eggs above a pan on the stove.

"Mornin'," he coughs out. The rest of the tea he'll drink slowly, because _ow_ , yeah that was a shit idea. "What am I drinking?"

"Tea," Percival says drolly. 

"Thanks, Pops," he bitches back. "What _kind_ of tea?"

"Medicinal. My own blend." Carefully sliding the spatula under each egg, he flips them one by one. "You'll feel better tonight." He takes a quiet sip from his own cup. "Bacon and eggs alright with you, Eddie?"

Eggsy leans against the island and shrugs. "Better 'n what I used to eat with Mom." The best lies are a little true. "Need any help?"

"You know where the silverware is."

The silence that follows isn't really silence - not with the clanking of forks and knives and the thud of the oven door as Percival pulls out the warmed plates with an oven mitt - but it's nice nevertheless, and both of them can feel the calm, the peace they couldn't get in England anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone prompted this on tumblr, I think, but it was WEEKS ago, so I can't find the post. If someone has the url, that would be fantastic!
> 
> Also, feel free to Brit-pick the shit out of this or give me some tips for future chapters.
> 
> Also also, if you're reading Dead Man's Float, I'm working on the next chapter, promise!
> 
> (holyfudgemonkeys.tumblr.com)


	2. Block Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their second week in Ohio, and Eggsy still doesn't know much about Percival.
> 
>  
> 
> Or, the chapter where Eggsy can't stop thinking about Harry, and Percival is easing back his own walls to give some support.

"It must have been hard for your mother," Mrs. Stome says, her words oozing fake sympathy. "You look so much like Jack."

They're at the first big neighborhood event since Eggsy and Percival moved in, and Eggsy has a feeling she's been waiting to say that since the beginning. If nothing else, Mrs. Stome is a big gossip who loves an audience, which the block barbeque has certainly provided. Most of the older women on the block are within hearing distance right now, crowding around 'that sweet boy who lost his mother' as he's heard them call him. Mrs. Kelvin and the widowed Mrs. Burne nod in agreement to her words, and the former pats his shoulder. _Utter bullshit_ , that's what the whole exchange is, because since _when_ did he look like Percival? ( _Maybe 'Arry_ , he thinks privately, remembering the first time he'd worn a bespoke suit. His chest aches.) He looks down at his shoes to hide his disbelief. 

Especially because the man in question is standing over by the grills with some of the men from the neighborhood, and he's wearing a polo. A _polo_. Along with his clunky glasses (both his and Eggsy's are Kingsman-made, of course, but not as fancy as normal) and frazzled I-just-found-out-I'm-the-father-of-a-seventeen-year-old-kid act, Percival looks like a bit of a dork. A handsome dork, if Eggsy's being honest, but, unfortunately, his heart's much too stuck on a _certain_ other man to let him muster up any real attraction to him at all. Which is probably for the best, though, since they're supposed to be father and son for the next month or two.

" _Very_ handsome," Mrs. Burne says, giggling. "Don't you think so, Mel?"

"Mom," Melanie says lowly, and Eggsy winces in sympathy. She's the only one in the neighborhood the same age as 'Eddie', so they're apparently expected to date, and her mother is only encouraging it. To Eggsy's irritation, Percival seems to think 'Jack' is the kind of father to do the same. 

He looks up at the man again. Percival winks at him. _Arsehole._

"I'm gonna get another," Eggsy says and taps his woefully non-alcoholic soda. "I'll be 'round to get your lawn tomorrow morning, Mrs. Kelvin."

"I'll come with you," Melanie says. 

The women say goodbye to them, Mrs. Burne winking at her daughter, whose cheeks are a bright rosy red. Eggsy, with a bit of a smirk tugging at his lips, thinks briefly that _maybe_ 'Eddie' isn't so impressed with 'Jack's' _pathetic_ bachelor life, and hey, there's a widow right here in the neighborhood who thinks he's _oh so handsome_. If Percival wants to complain about it, he can always cite the mission. Getting close to Mrs. Burne would open the agent up to all kinds of intel ( _gossip_ ), right?

"Look, just so you know, I'm not trying to hit on you or anything."

Eggsy glances at Melanie and snorts. "Didn't think you were, Mel," he teases.

"Really. I'm a lesbian," she blurts out. "Just so you know."

"Your mom doesn't know yet? Don't worry about it." Leaning in close (for both privacy and because he knows the women are likely watching them), he whispers, "Haven't told Pops yet, either."

"You're --?"

"Gay? Nah, bi." It's the truth. Sure, he had some fun with the princess back on V-day, had had some girlfriends before that, but he's had plenty of crushes on guys, too, and is, in fact, still nursing a giant fucking crush on his boss (of all people) despite the pain and betrayal that's there. Harry doesn't even have to be present for Eggsy to feel the hot rush of anger consume him.

He needs to stop thinking about it, or else he's going to crush his soda can. Still, he evidently wasn't able to keep all of it from showing. Melanie frowns.

"He a homophobe?"

"Not sure," he says, and it's another truth. It's been a week since the breakthrough, but for all that they've talked, he still doesn't even know the other agent's real name. "Still gettin' to know him."  
  


They check in with Merlin once they're back in the house. 

"I got nothin' solid. Mr. Stome plays cards a lot of nights, 'pparently." His voice is normal, neutral, and Merlin would be an idiot not to notice how much less friendly it is than when Eggsy first got his glasses. Merlin isn't an idiot.

"The subject of cards hasn't come up once so far," Percival adds. "It's likely an excuse, though I can't yet be certain if it's code for an affair or something connected to the mission. If it is the latter, I believe I may need at least another week to gain enough of their trust. They are already getting sloppy around me. Mr. Kelvin is most definitely involved, and the others are either oblivious or in the know."

It's the most Eggsy's heard him say at once. 

"Alright. Percival, Bors, I need the two of you to empty another warehouse tomorrow. Unsettle them."

"Not a problem, Merlin," Percival says smoothly, looking at Eggsy pointedly.

"Not a problem," he says and waits until the other agent turns off his glasses, too, to make a face at him.

"No matter how you feel, Bors, a gentleman is always polite."

He can feel that anger again, hot and prickly and tense along his body. "I was bein' polite, alrigh'? You don't need t' correct my _etiquette_ or anythin'. This ain't 'My Fair Lady'." _And you ain't Professor Higgins_ , runs through his mind. He doesn't want to talk about this. He shouldn't have even brought up the damn play.

Percival, to his credit, doesn't react much, just inclines his head before heading out of the room. The tension slowly eases out of Eggsy's frame.

"Ah, and Bors? No need to worry, I'm not a homophobe."

What? Eggsy scrambles off the couch, not caring that his snapback fell to the floor in the process. "Wait a minute, Perc', you can't jus' walk away after saying somethin' like tha'."

"And yet I am," the agent teases.

"C'mon, you couldn't've heard us across the yard."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I was whisperin'!"

Percival actually laughs, and it's not a polite, contained laugh, but a belly laugh that has a grin on his face and his teeth on display. He puts a warm hand on Eggsy's shoulder. "Did it never occur to you that I might be capable of reading lips, Bors?"

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of outing Ms. Burne or yourself."

"Cuz' bein' bi can't be a part of my cover?" he bites out. It's not that he's ashamed of himself, but when you live with someone like Dean, you learn that hiding is part of surviving.

"It could," Percival agrees. "I don't believe it is, however. I promise I won't look down on you enjoying the company of men. It would be awful hypocritical of me. Now, I do believe I have some laundry to finish. Goodnight, Son." With one last squeeze of Eggsy's shoulder, he's gone, and Eggsy's left staring after him.

So maybe it was a tad stupid to think he and Lancelot were the only queer agents at Kingsman (because she does, he knows, prefer birds a bit more), but really, how was he supposed to know? They all seemed so _posh_. Matter of fact, he's pretty sure good ol' Chester would have had a heart attack if Eggsy had told him just how much he wanted to _be_ with Harry. And Harry? Probably a bit worried and uncomfortable, what with the whole mentor thing and the guilt over Lee's death. Eggsy wouldn't be able to take it if the man distances himself, not over Eggsy's _crush_. Or, worse yet, if Harry sticks around anyway, in order to keep repaying that damn debt he thinks he owes the Unwins.

At least he'll always have his mum. Percival, too, it seems.

"Night, Pops."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some extra time this weekend (aka I'm procrastinating badly, whoops), and I got such a great response to chapter 1 that I banged this out pretty quickly. I guess you can say this chapter is dedicated to all the people who bookmarked, gave kudos, and/or commented on the first chapter. I'm glad people are enjoying this! 
> 
> The next update will take more time, but enjoy!


	3. Across the Pond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin updates Harry on Eggsy's and Percival's progress. Roxy finds her way into the meeting as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is awful but I can't bring myself to be sorry whoops

"You may leave now, Lancelot," Harry says, nodding at the young agent. She's all cleaned up, suit crisp and unwrinkled, but he knows from her report that it's hiding bruises, scrapes, and a set of cracked ribs. The mission, a week of gathering intel on a suspicious corporation in Greece, was hard but fruitful.

Roxy glances at the door where Merlin is standing and waiting politely and shakes her head. "If you'll allow it, I'd like to stay and hear any updates on Eggsy and Percival."

Looking at Harry, Merlin nods. "She has a right to, you know." Because besides Merlin, Eggsy and Percival are her closest ties in Kingsman - Eggsy as her closest friend, supporter, and co-savior of the world, and Percival as her sponsor.

  


Traditionally, a new agent's first missions would be with their sponsor, who would be tasked with guiding them through standard mission plans and techniques before the new agent could go out on their own. Merlin signed off on her and Eggsy's first 'mission' being V-day, which they technically completed with a senior agent despite how little he actually went out in the field, and he was there through the glasses to guide both of them on other missions. It simply wasn't feasible to follow tradition in the wake of V-day. With one agent down and recovering for almost six months, four with broken bones, two dead, the rest superficially injured, and no Arthur to lead them all, Kingsman was hurting just as badly as most countries. Merlin found himself doing two notoriously difficult jobs - Arthur _and_ Merlin. The agents cleared for field work were and still _are_ running themselves ragged taking up the slack for those who were only fit to work back at headquarters. Those in the field included Roxy, who was even from the start an effective agent despite how new she was at it, and Eggsy, whom Merlin had quickly pushed aside tradition to induct in as Bors. (Instead of Galahad, because they were all aware of just how similar he looked to Harry when in his first and favorite suit, and that association would only cause him pain and push him into Harry's shadow - never mind the fact that Galahad was _technically_ not an open position at the time anyway).

Most of the agents had to take missions on different continents as many countries struggled to stabilize themselves after the loss of so many political figures. Almost every agent showed, however, a certain twitchiness, a certain longing for home, where their loved ones (if they had any) were recovering still from the destruction, and the short term missions became the most desirable. So when Percival asked to be placed on the long-term mission in America, no one argued. He was a good agent, still reeling from his own losses from Valentine's actions, and it would give him a chance to get out and heal without too high a risk of dying. Everyone assumed (including Merlin himself) that Roxy would accompany him as his 'daughter'. 

That was thrown out of the window when complications arose in the mission she was on at the time, turning a two day stay in France into an eight day stay. Then, Eggsy came back from his last mission and, for the first time since Harry had officially come back two days before, met the new Arthur. 

It was a disaster.

  


"Bors, you're to meet with the new Arthur from now on," Merlin said, finishing off his coffee.

"They 'ere already?"

"I told you yesterday. Now, get your ass to the conference room."

"This one's not evil, yeah?" Eggsy asked, winking at him.

"Do I have to escort you myself, Bors?"

"I'm'a big kid," he protested. "Hey, don' get up."

"Can you follow me, or am I going to have to leash you?" 

To be honest, it was a relief for Merlin to bring him to see Harry, because if the cheeky kid hadn't finished early, he would have already been in the conference room waiting for him with Harry. They just didn't know how he'd take seeing his mentor alive again. Although he hadn't shared his worries, Merlin was concerned that Eggsy might not believe what he was seeing if there was no one else there to verify it. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Merlin knocked on the door, opening it after getting a muffled 'come in' in response. "Arthur, Bors is here to report."

"A bit early, isn't he?" Harry said from the head of the table.

Eggsy tensed at the sound of his voice, slipping his hands into his pockets to clench them into fists and staring straight at Harry. Cataloging the differences, he found an eye patch to be the most obvious, but if you looked close enough you could see scarring peeking out from underneath it, too. A thin line bisected his eyebrow. It had been _months_.

"Please take a seat, Bors," Harry said warmly but professionally.

"I think I'll stay standing, _thanks_. Got some bruises in unfortunate places," Eggsy said, his voice professional but neutral, empty, _angry_. He glanced at Merlin, whose face was blank and eyes observing, before turning back to Harry. "You survived."

"Quite luckily, yes." Harry hesitated, watching him carefully. "Eggsy-"

"Am I the last to know?" His face was as remarkably neutral as his voice.

Harry didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"I'm sorry, but we couldn't tell you, Eggsy," Merlin said and put a hand on the young agent's shoulder.

Eggsy stepped away from him. "It's Bors in here, innit?"

"Of course," Merlin said when Harry didn't say a word.

"Let's get down to it, then. Promised Mum I'd be home for dinner."

  


Eggsy walked aimlessly around the city until the moon was high and his inbox was full of messages from his mother.

  


The next day, he requested to join Percival. Merlin gave his okay, knowing it would only backfire if they kept him in England ("Give the boy time, Harry"). During her next check-in, Roxy asked about Eggsy, because she knew that he and Harry were both back at headquarters and bound to have run into each other, and upon hearing about his reaction, was fine with it, though she was worried about him as well. He wasn't answering her any of her encrypted messages.

  


"They've made progress," Merlin says, pulling up some clips of Percival and Eggsy cleaning out the second warehouse from the day before. He then flicks to a frame of Eggsy and Melanie talking at the block party. "Bors is friendly with the neighbors and getting closer through this girl, Melanie Burne, and many of the older women are fond of him as well. Percival is integrating himself into the group of husbands. He suspects, and I have to agree, that they may bring him into the fold within the next week or two. Meanwhile, I believe they should take care of another warehouse. Collins has them all over, and the two they've taken out so far have got him scared. He already upped his security after the first one. They hit another soon, Collins might be forced to make a move."

"I'll authorize it," Harry says with a tight voice. He's staring at the picture of Eggsy whispering in the girl's ear, his hand clenched around his tea. "The mission appears to be running smoothly."

Roxy glances at him and clears her throat. "How _are_ they, Merlin?" Although she wasn't around to actually _see_ Eggsy before he left, she knows from Merlin that he was... _off_ , to say the least. Off and quiet and doing his best to avoid both Merlin and Harry. Percival, though - Percival had been quiet and vaguely sad from the moment he had approached her about trying out for Kingsman. Thankfully, he seemed to be in lighter spirits after V-day, but she'd spent enough time with him to be worried for him still. He was her mentor and a friend of her father's who she remembered as being a quiet sort of joyful from the brief times she'd seen him previously. That joy hasn't come back yet.

Flicking away the pictures from the block party, Merlin puts a few others on the screen. Percival looking stern, Eggsy sprawled on the couch in the den. "I can't say for sure," he says finally. "But they don't look particularly... happy. Bors was wounded last night acting a tad recklessly. Percival completed the check-in without him and assured me it they could go at it again as soon as tonight if need be."

"How long?" Harry says quietly. "How long until-?"

"Another two weeks at least," Merlin says, looking at Harry with concerned eyes. "Could be a month, month and a half."

"Keep me updated," Harry says. There are dark bruises under his eyes, though his suit and hair are perfect as always. He's worried, tired, and a bit on edge.

They all are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing about the chapter and another about the next update:
> 
> So I didn't want Eggsy to lash out. He's pissed off, yeah, but I wanted to show the side of him that tricked Chester and denied Valentine a smug line before his death. He's also still (in the flashback) processing what exactly is happening. Idk, but I hope it wasn't too OOC or anything.
> 
> The next update might take a bit longer. I'm working on an update for my other active fic, Dead Man's Float (nbc hannibal), which hasn't had an update for about a month (yikes!). The chapters for that one are longer, but I've hit a bit of a roadblock, so I'm hoping to force myself to break through that block and get it finished by the end of the weekend. As for this fic, I have about a third of the next chapter written so far, but I'm not going to work on it until I finish the next chapter of DMF.


	4. The Second Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day before Merlin gives his report to Harry, Percival and Eggsy take down the second warehouse. Some surprises force them to adapt.

**The day before.**

There isn't time to ask Percival about his words the next day, not with the order to go after a second warehouse. Eggsy figures that'll only take up the evening, since they can't exactly go out in suits and take it down with the sun shining and keeping them visible, but Percival knows that missions rarely go completely smoothly and one must be prepared for any tangents or sudden changes.

While they're eating breakfast, the doorbell rings. Both of them slide a hand up to turn their glasses on.

"Mrs. Burne," 'Jack' says when he answers the door, blinking in surprise. "Do you need anything?"

"Please, Jack, it's Denise," she says and winks at him. She spies Eggsy peeking at them from the doorway to the kitchen and grins.

He gets the feeling that this visit is about him.

Percival smiles back at her hesitantly, sliding a hand into the pocket of his pajama pants. "Would you like to come in?" he says.

She gives him a disappointed look.

"Would you like to come in, _Denise_?" he corrects sheepishly.

He's gone from suave gentleman to shy single father in the time it took to walk from the kitchen to the door. Really, for a guy who _somehow_ manages to butter his toast in a posh way, the older agent's flawless awkward cover is more than a little stunning. If it wasn't for the ease with which Eggsy picked up acting over the last few months, he'd be gaping. (Not that he has anything on Percival, of course. Thankfully, startled is an okay expression to have on his face right now.)

"I'd love to."

"Uh, good! Eddie and I were just finishing up breakfast." He hesitates. "Are you, hungry? Thirsty?"

"Coffee would be nice. Good morning, Eddie," she says, focusing in on him.

_Oh yeah_ , this visit is about him.

"Morning, Mrs. Burne," he says and gives her a smile and a wink, because 'Eddie' had to be a little charming to convince the neighbors to let him mow their lawns. "I'm not supposed to be mowing your lawn today, am I?"

"Oh no, it doesn't need to be mowed for another week or two. But, Eddie, you're doing your senior year here, aren't you?" She puts a hand on his arm.

"He is," Percival chimes in from where he's pouring her a mug of freshly brewed coffee. (Neither he nor Eggsy are fond of the stuff.) "I plan on contacting the school closer to the beginning of the semester."

"Good, good. Thanks, Jack," Mrs. Burne says, taking the mug and helping herself to the sugar on the table. "Now, I'm sure your grades are perfectly fine, but, Eddie, have you thought about getting a tutor? Just to make sure you're ready? Melissa down the block moved in a few years ago, you know, and her son - a straight A student, of course - had already taken biology, so he skipped ahead to physics, but he was behind on math because of the last school he went to."

With a sip of his cooling tea, Percival nods. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Denise. What do you say, Eddie - you want a tutor?" There's a look in his eyes, _say yes, Eggsy, for the mission._

"I'd like that. Got anyone in mind, Mrs. Burne?" he says sweetly with another wink. They all know where this is going, and Eggsy's already got an in with Melanie. She trusts him, has found common ground with him, and getting information from her will be easy. Of course, she's not a suspect, but teens aren't as oblivious as their parents sometimes think. (Eggsy knows that better than some; he was well aware of Dean's asshole side long before he started pissing him off intentionally.)

"Well, Annie Kelvin is a smart girl. She'll be a sophomore at college next year. Her brother Sam has good grades, too, but he'll only be a freshman at the high school in the fall, so he wouldn't be any help." She takes a long sip of her coffee, pretending to think. "Don't even bother asking Adam Stome. His grades were awful. Honestly, we were all surprised he graduated on time, _Adam_ included."

Eggsy finishes off his tea (thankfully not that weird medicinal stuff anymore) and smiles widely. "What about Melanie, Mrs. Burne?"

She grins. "Oh, my Mel? Top of her class. She's been busy helping me with the company this summer, but I'll let her put aside some time for tutoring. It'll look good on her college applications, and you really couldn't do better, Eddie. I'll talk to her about it today and send her over tomorrow. Thank you for the coffee, Jack," Mrs. Burne says, giving Percival a smile and a wink. "You two have a good day, alright?" 

And then she's gone, letting herself out with ease. 

"This will be a wonderful opportunity for you, Son," Percival says cheerfully. His eyes are much more serious as they drill into Eggsy's. "Take advantage of it. It's always best to be prepared, and Ms. Burne must be a smart girl to be helping her mother at work."

More specifically, at 'the company'. It could only be the company Mr. Burne had worked for prior to V-day. The folder of information on him they'd read on the plane over stated he had been the head manager there, oversaw the flow of merchandise in and out of the warehouses. _The warehouses Percival and Eggsy were tasked with taking down._ Mrs. Burne began helping out at the company after his brutal death, but not even Merlin was able to figure out _how_ she was helping. If Melanie is helping, too... she's much more important than they expected. 

"Yeah, Pops, I will."

New task: get close to Melanie Burne.

And Eggsy, ever the underestimated one, is already halfway there.

 

Of course, stealing documents from and taking down the second warehouse is the more immediate task. Security is tighter than it was at the first, but it's still all too easy for a pair of spies to slip in, even in their immaculate suits and oxfords, which would be obviously out of place if anyone actually saw them. No one does until they want them to.

"Excuse me," Eggsy drawls, umbrella tucked under his arm as he stands behind a set of guards in cheap uniforms. "I seem to be lost. Could either of you two gentlemen show me where the main office is?"

They whip around, pulling their guns out before they can even see his face. One of them slips his free hand down to grab a pair of handcuffs from his belt. Percival knocks him out with a short whack to the back of the head with the butt of his gun. The other guard, seeing his companion fall into Percival's arms, turns away from Eggsy only to be taken out from behind by a brutally efficient hit from the umbrella.

"Forward about fifty meters and to the right," Merlin says. "None of the other guards are moving. Don't think they even heard. _Sloppy_."

Eggsy looks at Percival and nods. Just because the guards were spaced out doesn't mean they can actually talk. Percival heads forward.

It's not the main office, but the room Merlin directs them to is one of the several surveillance offices in the warehouse. Percival slides a cigarette case just within the door, where it goes unnoticed even as it releases a small quantity of a potent gas. Quite similar to chloroform, it knocks out the two guards sitting in front of the screens, allowing the two spies to slip in and hook up Merlin's USB with handkerchiefs held carefully over their noses and mouths. Like suits, the handkerchiefs are made of a different type of fabric than normal. It's tightly woven and made of special fibers that filtered the air. Although not good enough for more dire situations, the filter is strong enough for the already dissipating gas.

"I'm in," Merlin says. "They won't see you coming."

Next stop, main office.

 

Except it doesn't matter much that the guards at other surveillance stations only see a loop of film, because Collins, the owner of the company, was smart enough to boost security where it was needed most at this warehouse - the office. Twelve guards stand in the vicinity, and there's no way to take them out one by one without the others noticing.

"Not all of the bastards are visible on camera," Merlin grumbles in their ears at the sight of the guards through their glasses.

_Go for the office, Perc'_ , Eggsy mouths at his partner in an exaggerated way.

The man's eyebrows knit together, and he shakes his head, tapping the glasses meaningfully. 

_Follow the plan_ , Eggsy figures it means, but fuck it. They don't _have_ a plan ready for this. ("Bors," Merlin warns, but is ignored.) Clicking his signet ring on, he darts in and sends the nearest guard to the floor, shaking from the voltage. The man next to him is swept off his feet by the force of Eggsy's umbrella hitting the back of his knees. A whack to the head leaves him unconscious.

Merlin curses. 

Percival adapts.

The older agent breaks the gun arm of another guard, pistol whipping him hard enough to knock him out as he cries out from the pain. The next one in his path gets broken ribs, and so on until he reaches the office. He leaves six for Eggsy to take care of, confident that he can. They need to get what they came for and get out before reinforcements come, and tucked into his suit jacket is a thin piece of plastic - a small, portable scanner that he quickly uses to scan any documents that seem important. The documents aren't the main objective, and, to be honest, Merlin might not even find them helpful at all, but it will unsettle Collins more to not be sure of what their aim is.

He exits the office to see only two guards left standing. Eggsy stuns one of them with his umbrella and swings around to get the other one.

"Bors," Percival calls out in unison with Merlin, his stride quickening as he realizes the last guard has a nasty looking knife on him as well.

A knife that Eggsy grabs palm first and pushes away as he head-butts the man. He pockets the knife with a bleeding hand and pulls out his handkerchief to stem the flow. "Didn't quite think that one through I guess," he says with a bit of a laugh.

"No, you didn't," Percival says flatly. "Let's get out."

They leave the warehouse burning steadily in the night.

 

Usually they would check in with Merlin as soon as they get back, but Percival turns off Eggsy's glasses as well as his own with a quick hand.

"Perc'?" Eggsy says, frowning.

"Bors," he replies and grabs the younger man's shoulder in a firm grip, pulling him towards the bathroom on the first floor. There, he unravels the handkerchief and pushes Eggsy's sluggishly bleeding hand under the faucet. He washes it and pulls out a small kit from the cabinet.

"It's nothin' much, Perc'," Eggsy says, annoyed.

Percival begins stitching the cut.

"Say somethin', will ya?"

"You're a bloody idiot, Bors."

"Perc'-"

" _A bloody fucking idiot_. Careless, too. Jumping into the fray will get you killed," he hisses. "I've seen it happen before."

"Like followin' orders was gonna get us through tha'?" Eggsy says angrily. "If I 'ad followed orders like a _proper Kingsman agent_ , Chester would'a had a good ol' time with Valentine, and loads of people would be dead!"

"I'll finish the check-in on my own, Bors," Percival says firmly, finishing up the stitches with a deft hand. "Get some sleep." He stalks out without another word.

Eggsy watches him go, frowning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit longer to make up for the fact that I took longer to update this time!
> 
> I hope the action scenes weren't too lame.


	5. 'Bond'-ing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy and Percival resolve last chapter's issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My titles are corny because I think I'm hilarious

He genuinely tries to go to sleep. He's tired, his hand is throbbing (maybe it _is_ worse he thought it was, but he'll never admit it), and he wants to give Percival time to cool off. Something pissed him off - enough to make the normally calm agent curse at him - and it's clear that it isn't necessarily something _Eggsy_ did. Okay, so it's only a feeling, but he was pretty good with those despite what some people may think. Percival is angry, sure, and his scolding _was_ focused on Eggsy, but there was concern there, too, just like with his mum whenever she'd scold him for pissing Dean off. (He stopped letting her see the damage once he learned how to hide it, because her tears hurt more than his bruises.) And, also like his mum, some of that anger seemed directed right back at Percival.

Eggsy's not a therapist or whatever, but he's had enough experience to see that. And _fuck_ if it isn't making it hard to sleep. The guilt's awful. Hadn't Percival checked up on him after his nightmare before? He'd taken care of him, too, even if Eggsy hadn't asked for the help. The older agent isn't a bad man, hasn't betrayed him ( _yet_ ) like any of the other older men in his life, and _fuck_.

Kicking the covers off, he slips out of bed and uses his training to move down the hallway with minimal noise.

(It has nothing to do with the last time Eggsy disappointed someone, with the last time he hadn't made an effort to resolve things _before_ it all went to shit and left him feeling _empty_ and _angry_ with everything. Or at least that's what he tells himself.)

 

"Bors," Percival says from the couch in the den. It's one of the safest places in the house, having been chosen and fixed up for them to report back to Merlin in, so it's no wonder he chose there to crash. There's a decanter of something and a glass with two fingers of whatever it is on the coffee table. "I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"'N you really though' I was gonna listen?"

"Not really, no," Percival says, and it almost sounds wistful.

"So? What're _you_ doin' up still?"

"Come sit down, Bors. Lurking in the doorway like that is unseemly."

Rolling his eyes, Eggsy walks around the couch to sit down but stops when he gets a good look at the other man, who's flipping through a case filled with DVDs in sleeves. It's so surprisingly domestic and _pedestrian_ that he can't help but stare. Percival closes it.

"Yes, Bors?"

"Um, yeah, look, Perc', 'm not gonna apologize for wha' I did. But I don' want us to 'ave a problem either," Eggsy says. He stops there, because what else should he say?

"It's fine," Percival says tiredly. "Please, sit down."

He does.

"You should have waited for a new plan," he continues, giving Eggsy a look when he scowls, "but you _do_ work very well on the fly. That can help or hinder you in the field."

He looks _so_ fucking tired and maybe a bit drunk ( _figures_ he'd be composed even while sloshed), and it all sort of clicks for Eggsy.

"You're talkin' 'bout Lancelot," he blurts out, staring at Percival. "The other one."

Though both he and Roxy had prior training of some sort plus the stuff they'd gotten during the Kingsman tests _and_ the experience from taking down Valentine, they hadn't been completely prepared to just run off into the field after V-day. With all of the agents and staff practically running around in circles to get things running smoothly once again, there hadn't been anyone to really give them any training (in the field or otherwise) and Merlin's tips weren't as good as a physical guiding hand, so Eggsy had come up with the idea to ask the man for surveillance from old missions. If it was recorded through the glasses and all, then there were at least hundreds of 'training videos' for them to watch, right? (He'd made an effort, after getting looks of almost-pity from Rox', to pay attention to videos from _all_ the agents.)

Lancelot, surprisingly, was the one he took the most away from. Though no one talked about it much, he knew the others saw Harry when they looked at him. The way he styled his hair, the suit the man had made for him, the way he carried himself, the weapons he preferred - all of it reminded them ( _and_ him) of Galahad, and part of him expected to fight like him, too. Perhaps he did, a bit. But Lancelot? Lancelot and Eggsy would've gotten along real well. Hell, he figures they would've had a blast doing missions together and pissing Merlin off with their recklessness if his death wasn't the thing that prompted Eggsy's introduction to Kingsman in the first place.

The difference in class might have been a problem. His feelings on class weren't something he could glean from watching the man's missions. Otherwise, though, he could definitely see similarities. They both loved their jobs, and it made them look cocky. They both jumped right in, reveled in a plan gone wrong, because it meant they had to just _do it_. They both loved pushing people's buttons even ( _especially_ ) if it meant going up against the line between manners and rudeness, which Eggsy was all too familiar with after Merlin's crash course in being a gentleman. Quite simply, they both loved risk, loved testing boundaries.

And that's the problem.

Percival is silent, taking small sips of his drink every moment or so.

"After the party, you said," Eggsy says, hesitant, "you said you bein' a homophobe was _hypocritical_."

Percival takes another sip.

"So 'e was your-"

"Lover, partner, almost husband," the man says, downing his drink. "Your point is, Bors?"

Eggsy doesn't have a point. 

"This," he continues glaring at his drink, " _swill_ was his favorite. Would you like some? It really is a substandard scotch."

"Think 'm gonna need some for this, bruv."

Percival gives him a good three fingers of it. "I think he drank it, because he knew I hated it," he admits. "Even if I never said a word."

The liquor burns a path down Eggsy's throat, but he doesn't complain. "Yeah? What else?"

"What else did he like?" Percival quirks an eyebrow at him. "Spy films, _naturally_." It comes out a bit weary, a bit amused, and overwhelmingly fond. "James loved spy films."

"Like Bond?"

"Of course. Sean Connery was his favorite Bond."

Eggsy snickers. "'E ever make you watch 'em wit' 'im?"

"All the time," he replies, smiling lightly. "I despised them. I prefer sci-fi myself."

"Really?"

Percival hums and pours himself a few more fingers of scotch. There's a considering look in his eye as he glances at Eggsy. "I was about to watch one of his favorites before you _so rudely_ interrupted me. Would you like to stay?" His tone is teasing again, nothing like what it was hours ago. 

Grinning, Eggsy says, "Yeah, sure, Perc'." 

 

They fall asleep on the couch, drunk and to the sounds of _From Russia With Love_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit shorter than last chapter, but I wanted to post something today :)
> 
> Just to clarify, nothing shippy is going to happen between Percival and Eggsy. They'll just be friends (with a bit of a father/son sort of deal). Also, I'm really hoping this chapter didn't feel forced... I really wanted to bring in Percival's relationship with Lancelot, and I feel like this was a good way, but I'm not sure.
> 
> Also, if anyone has any ideas for Percival's real name (even if just for the first name) feel free to mention it in the comments or send me an ask on tumblr (holyfudgemonkeys.tumblr.com). I think I'll need it in a few chapters.


	6. A Shoulder to Lean On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy has a conversation with Percival and then another with Melanie.

What wakes him up is not his alarm. Nor is it the sun shining through his window. Instead, it's the generic ringtone Merlin set on 'Jack's' cell phone, and after a few agonizing moments of wanting to smash the thing to pieces for what it's doing to his head, Eggsy remembers where he is. He opens his eyes just a bit, thankful for the low light of the empty blue screen on the TV. The DVD player must have shut off during the night.

_Percival_ , he thinks, _where's --_

_Oh._ Well, it's a damn good thing the glasses are off and stashed to the side, because he's sure that any frames Merlin could capture, blurry and oddly angled or not, of him practically gnawing on the older agent's shoulder would be good blackmail for the future. He closes his mouth and grimaces at the dry feeling.

Percival shifts underneath him, and when Eggsy looks up, the man is staring at him with eyes barely cracked open. They move around the room then, no doubt assessing the situation, looking for danger, before they blink once and open fully.

"We'll need to change the dressing," the man rumbles sleepily.

"Wot?" Eggsy's _not_ a morning person.

"Your wound."

"Oh." He shifts off of Percival's shoulder and immediately does some basic stretches to relieve the stiffness in his body.

With his newfound freedom, the other man leans forward to grab his phone off of the table and unlock the screen, revealing one missed call and one voicemail from Mrs. Burne. He taps the screen to pull up the message.

"Hi Jack," says the tinny Denise Burne. "Just wanted to let you know that I talked it over with Mel last night, and she's on board. I'll send her over in a few hours to set up a tutoring schedule with Eddie, alright? Great. I'll catch you later!"

It's much too cheerful for that early in the morning (which, upon further reflection, is not _actually_ that early -- in all his time at Kingsman, Eggsy's never been able to sleep past eight in the morning, let alone ten, no matter when he crashed into bed).

"I know a good hangover cure," he offers, glancing at Percival. They'll need to be up and ready for when Melanie comes over, possibly with her mother in tow.

The other agent tries to smile but only manages a grimace. "That would be wonderful."

 

They drink Eggsy's concoction and eat greasy bacon and pancakes to help the headaches fade. Although silence is to be expected when anything louder than a whisper is enough to make them wince, the silence feels heavier than that. Like it's filled with caution and unsaid words and awkwardness. Eggsy _hates_ it.

"Look, Pops if you ever need to talk about _Mom_ again, I'm here," he blurts out, mindful of their covers. The kitchen isn't the safest place to talk.

Percival stares at him with tired eyes. He nods and gives him a small smile before taking a long sip of his tea. "I may take you up on that, Son." The empty cup is rinsed and set on the counter. "Now, let's see about that cut of yours."

 

"I meant it, you know," Eggsy says as he watches the older man slowly unwrap the gauze. It's bloody and worst of all, mostly dried, but it's unraveled with care.

"I know," Percival says, gently cleaning around the stitches. "I meant what I said as well. It was a relief to talk about your mother again."

"Good. I mean, I haven't lost any great love or anything, but -"

Percival shakes his head and gives him a stare so intense that he can't even finish. "It counts, even if it wasn't realized, Son." He wraps new gauze snug around Eggsy's hand.

Eggsy stops breathing for a moment. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_. Is he that obvious? Do they _all_ know? He knows that Merlin and Roxy know. They saw him afterwards, saw the red rim around his eyes, the anger and pain on his face. Roxy was there for the first wave of his nightmares, when he couldn't even go to sleep without dreaming of Harry's disappointment and the church and the way he had just _fallen_ , and Merlin was there to talk him through any panic attacks he had after missions (thankfully only _after_ missions, because Eggsy was good at pushing his feelings off until he did what he had to do).

"Don't be worried," Percival says simply, clasping his shoulder with a warm hand. "If _they_ knew, you would know."

"Sure, whatever, Pops," Eggsy mutters. He doesn't want to talk about Harry Hart, this was supposed to be his break from _Harry fucking Hart_.

Percival lets him be.

 

A text comes in a few minutes after one; _you free?_ He is ( _yeah, coming over?_ answered with a simple _y_ ).

 

“Afternoon, Eddie,” Mrs. Burne chirps when he opens the door. Melanie is behind her, grimacing. Her hands are firmly in her pockets.

“Hi, Mrs. Burne,” He says with a charming smile. “Hey, Mel.”

“Is your father around?” Mrs. Burne winks at him as she says it.

“Yeah.” Turning around, he cups his hand around his mouth and shouts, ”Pops!”

Percival appears at the top of the stairs and smiles shyly at the two women in the doorway. “Eddie, you should have let them in meanwhile,” he scolds. “Are either of you thirsty?”

“I’d love a glass of water,” Mrs. Burne says, winking again. She nudges her daughter in Eggsy’s direction. “Why don’t you kids go figure out a schedule?”

Eggsy nods at her before smiling at Melanie. “We’ll be in my room, okay, Pops?”

“Go on,” Percival says and gives Eggsy a wink. Mrs. Burne evidently approves, because she laughs a little and smiles at Melanie slyly.

Melanie fidgets, eagerly following Eggsy down the hall. “I’m sorry about that,” she says when they’re in ‘Eddie’s’ room.

“Nah, don’t worry about it -- doesn’t bother me,” he says, plopping down at the head of the bed. “‘Sides, Pops was just teasing. Bastard knows it isn’t like that.”

“My mom might convince him otherwise,” she says grimly and sits down at the other end.

“I don’t think so. He believes me.” Really, he gets the feeling that Percival doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean (when they’re not undercover, of course, and even then their conversations are often two-sided -- the surface conversation and the real one). He’s just so _intense_ about what he does say. 

_That’ll be a problem_ , he thinks absently. There’s no way he’ll be able to convince the older agent that he’s _not_ in love with Harry. _Fuck._

“Lucky,” she mutters.

Yeah, _lucky._

“Could you just talk to her?” he says instead. It’s hollow, and he knows it. If she could, she would have already done so, and hell, she probably already has without success, just like Eggsy tried talking to his own mum about Dean. 

“Could _you_? With Jack?” she shoots back at him, picking at lint on the blanket.

“I did,” he says awkwardly. “He knows.”

“He knows?” she says, gaping. “And he’s fine with it?”

“Yeah. Pops is, uh, real supportive.” (He remembers the hand on his shoulder, the sympathy in his gaze.)

“Well,” she blurts out, hunching over. “He’s _cool._ She’s -- she won’t accept it, Eddie. She won’t believe it.”

“Then let her believe we’re together or whatever. It’ll get her off your back,” he offers.

“Thanks.” She scoots up to sit right next to him and lets her head rest on his shoulder. “ _Thanks._ ”

“Not a problem, Mel.”

She’s quiet for a while.

“She used to be better. Or maybe just not as bad.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Before Dad, you know,” she says softly. 

“How long ago?” he says, even though he knows the answer from the files. He grimaces at the memories that come up.

“We had the SIM cards.” 

He wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault,” she says, glancing up at him.

Smiling weakly (and remembering, _fuck_ , remembering all the _death_ on V-day, all the injuries), Eggsy says, “Tell me about him.”

It seemed to loosen Percival up, the talking, and he figures the same thing would apply for Melanie, too, and if it gets him any information he could use, then all the better. (Sometimes it makes him feel guilty, but Kingsman is about occasionally doing things he might not like, and he promises her silently that he will leave her better off than he found her despite his prying.)

“You wouldn’t mind?” she says as she straightens up and stares at him hopefully.

“Nah, ‘course not.”

She gives him a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should be some hartwin feels/angst coming up in the next chapter or the one after that. Since Percival let Eggsy know that he knows and all.
> 
> Also, a better look at how the neighborhood was affected by V-day!


	7. Two Fathers, Two Loves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy's conversation with Melanie gives him two things: information he needed and something to think about.
> 
> Eggsy's conversation with Percival gives him another two: a name and some peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it a tad longer to make up for not updating for longer than usual!

"He wasn't, like, the _greatest_ dad or anything," Melanie says, her head still on his shoulder.

Eggsy gently squeezes her with the arm he has around her shoulders in encouragement. "But he _was_ your dad."

"Yeah," she says softly. The ghost of a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "He was."

Resting his head on top of hers, he can't help but think of his own father. Lee Unwin is only a blurry face to him, a vague whiff of cheap cologne, and bits of absently hummed melodies he eventually recognized as hits by The Police. Lee Unwin is a picture and a partial memory.

But Eddie Richards has a father, and he's downstairs awkwardly flirting with Melanie's mother.

"He liked pizza rolls," Melanie says suddenly. "Went through a bag a week."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He'd always sneak me some, because Mom thinks they're too processed and that they'd stunt my growth or _something_." She giggles, and Eggsy can feel her body shaking with it. "He also snuck me Snickers bars. I used to go to the office and do little errands for them -- pick up lunch, grab some papers off the printer, that kind of thing -- and he'd give me a few bars a week as payment."

_Bingo_. "Oh yeah?" he says, just to prompt her again, and gives her another squeeze. It's as much an apology as it is a comfort.

"I _really_ miss him, Eddie," she whispers. "Mom doesn't want to talk about him, and when I can get her to, she's angry. Says he left us off in a bad way and complains about all the work he left behind. I still do errands at the office, but none of it's the same, ya know?"

"I get ya," he says, and he really does, because nothing was the same after Lee died. Even though he barely even remembers the man, he _knows_ it, always has. His mum stopped saving for really nice clothes (her date clothes, as he remembers her calling them with a wink) and baking Eggsy’s -- _his dad’s_ \-- favorite cookies. She started hugging him more and for longer. She started crying when he smiled his dad’s smile. It all slowed when she met Dean, but even then it was just _not the same_ in a different way, and he knows that she’s still healing from Lee’s death in some ways.

“Is -- is Jack like that?” Melanie says, fumbling like she’s not sure if it’s okay to ask. “With your mom?”

He thinks of Percival -- of him drinking his lover’s favorite shitty scotch, of him watching the man’s favorite Bond films even though he _hates_ spy films. He thinks of Percival cleaning his wound and offering his support for Eggsy’s broken heart. 

“Nah,” he says quietly and stares at his bandaged hand. “Nah, we talked about Mom. Or I guess he talked and I listened. He really misses her.”

“Have you talked to him?” She lifts her head off of his shoulder at looks right at him, curious.

Eggsy doesn’t say anything. (He’s not sure he could get any words out.)

“Hey,” she continues softly, touching his arm, “what happened to your hand?”

“Grabbed a knife wrong,” he says and shrugs his shoulders stiffly. “I didn’t mean to, I swear. Pops berated me for it already, too, so don’t worry.”

Although her eyes linger on the bandage, she abandons any other questions she had and changes the subject. “So, how do you want to do this?”

“What?” He honestly has no fucking idea what she’s talking about, which is not good. _Very_ not good considering that his whole job is to get information from her, and he’s evidently missed something. “Do what?”

“Sex,” she deadpans. “Lots and lots of --”

“Mel,” he says with a smirk, half startled and half trying not to laugh. “If you’d said something _earlier_ , I would’ve been prepared.” A snort escapes him.

“Tutoring, Eddie,” she says. Her shoulders are shaking with her laughter again, this time silent, and it’s nice to feel against his own shoulder.

“Is _that_ what they’re callin’ it here in Ohio?”

Melanie drops her head on his shoulder, her laughter loud in the room. (He’s sure her mother and Percival can hear it from the kitchen, which means Mrs. Burne probably will think they’re dating by the end of the visit.) “Really though, Eddie,” she says as her laughter finally trails off. “I’m free in the mornings.”

He scowls.

“Or,” she offers after another laugh, “you could come visit me on my lunch hour? I have a little office. Well, a closet, really. But we could hole up in there and work on stuff?”

“That works for me,” Eggsy says with relief -- relief that’s very real, because Melanie is making this mission _all too easy_ for him.

“Great. Gimme, I dunno, two days to get prepared?”

“No problem, Mel.”

 

After she leaves, Merlin murmurs a _Good work, Bors_ in his ear.

Eggsy ignores it.

 

Percival does errands after Melanie and her mother leave. As he goes to leave, he clasps Eggsy’s shoulder and calls him _Son_ and it leaves Eggsy with the feeling that the man is still giving him his space.

He nods and calls the man _Pops_ again and then texts Melanie once the car Merlin had arranged for them is out of the driveway.

 

_should i talk to him?_

_seems like you want to_ , he gets back.

_yeah_ , he texts, followed by a _i’m gonna_ before he can let himself back out of it. Eggsy Unwin keeps to his damn word, no matter how much he doesn’t want to at times.

 

The opportunity comes up at dinner. Percival is in ‘Jack’s’ office working on some papers for his cover’s job, and Eggsy’s antsy, pacing back at forth in the den until he just _can’t stand it_ anymore and, looking for something to do, decides to make dinner himself. He can’t cook anything fancy, of course, and what he does know are probably things Percival has never eaten. Why would he have when he had all that fancy cuisine at his fingertips? When he obviously learned to cook from someone who knew more than Michelle Unwin? 

But Eggsy’s decided, and that’s that. He’s cooked more than a few times for himself when his mum was too tired or too out of it or too busy with Dean to do so. Potatoes he’s worked with before (because they’re bloody cheap), so he grabs a few from the sack on the counter. He also nicks some chicken from the fridge, because the kitchen is stocked with a grill, and it’s one of the basic skills he knows. Broccoli he hesitates on but eventually takes, too. Percival is always shoving vegetables at him.

 

“Come in,” Percival says absently, typing away at the laptop Merlin had provided for ‘Jack’. 

Eggsy opens the door some and leans in. “Dinner’s done, Pops.”

“Oh?” He seems surprised, but in a good way judging by the small smile on his face. “I thought I smelled something.”

“Smells damn good, right?”

“Not bad,” Percival teases and gets up from the desk. “What are we having?”

 

They sit at the table with plates of grilled chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli and talk about stupid little things like ‘Eddie’s’ tutoring schedule (Percival gives him an approving look when he hears where the sessions will take place, and Eggsy grins back at him), the weather, and the food itself. Afterwards, the atmosphere is slightly stilted. Eggsy doesn’t want to just bring _it_ up.

Percival saves him the trouble. “Not that I mind, Son,” he says, putting the dishes in the dishwasher, “but was there a reason you decided to cook tonight?”

“You’re just annoyed taco night got pushed back,” Eggsy teases. His smirk is weak.

“ _Eddie._ ”

Eggsy looks away. “Could we talk about stuff?” he says quietly.

“Of course.”

 

“You sure he don’’ know?” Eggsy blurts out once they’re in the den, glasses turned off.

“ _Very._ ” Percival’s tone is very soothing. “Don’t worry, Bors.”

“Call me Eggsy when we’re talkin’ ‘bout this, this _personal_ stuff, ‘kay?” Eggsy says agitated.

“If you wish, Eggsy.”

“ _Great._ ”

“Eggsy,” Percival says, putting his hands on the young agent’s shoulders. “Eggsy, _calm down_. Harry’s not going to ignore you if you tell him.”

“Tell him?” _Maybe_ he’s getting a little hysterical. “Why would I _tell him_ anything?”

“Because you love him,” Percival says bluntly.

All of the fight leaves Eggsy then, and he leans into the other agent, defeated. “I do, don’’ I?”

“Deeply, I believe.”

“Perc’?” It’s muffled by the man’s shirt

“Julian, Eggsy.”

“Julian? Tha’ your name?”

“Last time I checked,” Percival quips.

“ _Ha ha_ ,” Eggsy shoots back but then hesitates. “You wanna, maybe, watch anoth’uh film?”

“I’d love to.”

Pulling back, Eggsy straightens his clothes and hops over the couch to get to the DVDs still on the coffee table. “What’dya say, Jules -- _Goldfinger_ or _Thunderball?_ ”

“ _Goldfinger_ ,” Julian says fondly, remembering the last time he’d heard almost those exact words.

 

_If you’re not going to pick, I’m just going to pick for you._

_James --_

_Goldfinger it is!_

James _\--_

_I love you, Jules_ and a soft kiss against his lips.

A sigh and a stubborn _I love you, too, you bastard._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So originally I planned on putting more about the affect of V-day on the neighborhood in this chapter, but it turns out that's going to need to wait for another chapter. (My outline for this fic is very basic, and otherwise I'm just letting it flow wherever it wants to.)
> 
> But hey, surprise Percilot sadness at the end there, and we _are_ closer to more Hartwin angst. A couple of people (at least two I think?) suggested Julian, and I loved the idea another person suggested of his name being Theodore so James could piss him off by calling him Teddy, so I sorta combined the two?
> 
> My finals are starting next week (eek!!) so I can't say how often this will be updated over the next two weeks, but I'll try and squeeze out chapters as often as I can.


	8. A Few Good Days, Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy goes to his first tutoring session with Melanie and thinks back on the last few days.
> 
> Also, a bonus glimpse at Merlin, Harry, and Roxy and how they're dealing. (spoiler: not that well)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that Eggsy knows Percival's name, I plan on calling him Julian when they're not doing big mission-related things, fyi.

“Thanks, man,” Eggsy says and gives the janitor a little wave. He doesn’t want Mrs. Burne to know he’s there ( _yet_ , at least -- he figures she’s enough of a gossip hound that she’ll know before he leaves), because without her eyes on them all the time, there will be more chances for him to break off and find something, _anything_ that could be useful. Therefore, he’d been careful to wander briefly through the lobby and find someone lower in the chain of command to ask for directions. The janitor caught his eye, and now there he is, standing in front of Melanie’s ‘office’ with a bag of burritos in hand and a backpack hanging off his shoulder. 

He knocks. The door opens.

“Eddie,” Melanie says, grinning. “You’re early, you know.”

“I wanted to catch ya before you grabbed somethin’ awful from the cafeteria,” he says, waving the bag in her face with a smirk. “I mean, if you _don’t_ want any of these, I _could_ just eat them all myself.”

She snatches the bag from his hand. “Consider half of this bag my fee.”

Laughing, he enters the small room and closes the door behind him. “I guess I can agree to that. Do you take Snickers for tips?”

She plops down in her chair. “Snickers?” Melanie says, looking up from the bag. “Eddie, if you’re joking, I _swear_ \--”

“ _Me?_ Joke about _chocolate?_ ” He fishes two out of his backpack and tosses one at her with a wink.

“Eddie…”

“If you don’t want me to, I won’t bring any again,” he says seriously.

“Nah,” she says and puts the bar off to the side. “Thanks. A lot.”

“Not a problem.”

“I mean, first burritos and now chocolate -- you do know we’re here to learn?” She makes a face as she says it, and he laughs.

“Yeah, yeah. But it’s been a good few days, ya know?”

“So the talk went well and all?” she says hesitantly. “I didn’t want to bug you about it, but it’s been a three days, and --”

“It went _real_ well,” Eggsy says honestly. “And I think… I think we understand each other more.”

“Oh yeah?”

 

**Two days before.**

The first thing that registers as he wakes up is that he fell asleep in the den again, though this time completely sober. The second thing is that he evidently fell asleep first, because there’s a spare blanket tucked around him, an extra pillow underneath his head that he doesn’t remember getting the night before. He stretches and yawns silently, turning around on the couch to take in the sight of the room. 

Julian stares at him through sleepy eyes from the recliner. There’s a blanket over him, too, but it’s untucked, one of his socked feet peeking out from underneath. “Breakfast?” 

“Waffles?” Eggsy says hopefully and gives his best adorable face.

Julian sighs, and Eggsy knows he’s won. “With _fruit_ ,” the man says, slipping on his glasses.

“As long as there’s waffles, Jules, I’ll eat the damn fruit.”

 

They’re eating waffles ( _you sure you aren’t a chef, Pops? these fucking waffles are beautiful_ followed by _language, Eddie_ ) when they get the call.

“Percival, Bors,” Merlin says in their ears, “I need to talk to you. Make your way to the secure room as soon as possible, thank you.” And he’s gone.

Eggsy shoves the next chunk of waffle into his mouth along with a few strawberry slices. Maybe it’s stupid, but the whole breakfast feels ruined now that he’s been reminded that this is a _mission_ , that they have things to do. (Logically he knows that Julian didn’t have to make waffles, that this being friendly with Eggsy isn’t a duty for him, and that he’s only feeling this way all of a sudden, because the interruption reminded him that Merlin could be watching _whenever_ they have their glasses on. The voice he once found comfort in hearing during missions just angers him with its intruding now.)

“Chew, Eddie,” Julian says dryly, elegantly cutting his waffle with a knife and a fork. “You have time. We won’t be finishing the movie until I’m done.”

In other words, they both have to do the briefing together, and Julian plans on taking his damn time finishing breakfast. It’s sweet, in an odd way, that the man is willing to ignore Merlin for Eggsy.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eggsy says, but his smile is grateful.

 

“Another warehouse? _Already?_ ” Eggsy blurts out, glancing at Julian.

The man doesn’t appear to be fazed, but there’s a slight downturn to his lips that Eggsy is beginning to realize means he’s concerned.

“Yes,” Merlin says. “We’re not going to stop while we’re ahead.” It’s much less snarky than it would have been a few months ago. 

It pisses Eggsy off, the anger ( _the regret_ ) burning in his chest. He wants to say something, but Julian lays a hand on his shoulder before he can do much more than open his mouth.

“It won’t be a problem. We’ll be ready,” Julian says calmly. “Tonight?”

“Tonight,” Merlin confirms.

 

“How is the Ohio mission coming along?” Harry asks Merlin as casually as he can over lunch.

Merlin gives him a look. “ _Let’s have lunch together, Merlin,_ he says. _We haven’t shared a meal in a while_ , he says.”

“Merlin --”

“Harry, if you wanted to know about Eggsy, all you had to do was _ask_.” He takes a long sip of his tea.

“I wasn’t --”

“He’s the same as he was the last time you _‘weren’t’_ asking.”

“And Percival?” Harry asks, resigned.

Merlin takes another sip of his tea, staring at him, not quite sure how to word his answer. “I think he’s… a good influence on the lad. At least from what I see.”

“Ah… good.” Harry doesn’t touch his lunch.

 

When Roxy pops in his office later in the day, Merlin just rolls his eyes. She smiles sheepishly. 

“They’re both fine as far as I can tell,” he says finally.

She sighs in relief. “It’s going well then? The mission?”

“So far, yes.”

“Those two as father and son, though,” she says, shaking her head as she sits down. “I just can’t see it.”

“Percival’s been doing this for years, and Eggsy isn’t a bad actor. Everyone seems convinced.”

“They’re so _different_. Maybe that’s why it works.”

“Whatever it is, they work well together,” Merlin says and glances at her. “They might get a lot of these sorts of missions in the future.”

She smiles again, but it’s bittersweet. “It might be for the best. I’m getting used to working alone, and those two might balance each other out.”

Merlin hums in agreement.

“I mean,” Roxy continues, “they might be good for each other. Both of them have been too quiet lately. Maybe they need to be quiet _together_ before they can talk to us again.”

“It’s possible. I’m not sure about Eggsy,” he says grimly.

“Maybe the time away will be good for him?”

“He still won’t talk to me unless necessary.”

She grimaces. “He’ll come around.”

“Hopefully soon. Harry’s driving me crazy,” he grumbles. “And I think I’m beginning to miss the little shit, too.”

He really is. It used to be that Harry and James were the only agents who really gave it back to him whenever he got snarky, but then James was gone and Harry was recuperating (and permanently off field duty). Merlin was going fucking nuts with the stress of being Merlin and Arthur without any sort of release -- even in the form of jokes. Roxy was ( _is_ ) witty, a delight to watch over and guide, especially because she doesn’t often actually _need_ any guidance, but Eggsy wasn’t shy. He snarked at Merlin before Merlin had the chance to say anything himself. He made lewd jokes and took pleasure in doing so even while dodging bullets. He reveled in the job in the way that not even Roxy, who really _does_ love being a Kingsman, did.

And now he wasn’t any of those things. Now, there was radio silence from him almost all of the time -- even when Merlin talked to him, sometimes. Now, he joked with Percival and Melanie Burne but never Merlin. Now, he jumped into a fight headfirst with more carelessness than he used to. Merlin is sick of it. He misses Eggsy, and he knows Roxy and Harry do, too.

Roxy’s clinging to him more than usual, because her best friend in the organization _and_ her mentor are both gone without a word. There are more friendly visits, more tea breaks. With Harry, it’s the opposite. Merlin barely sees the man anymore, even though they’ve been friends for decades. Harry’s isolating himself and burying himself in his work as Arthur as an excuse. Whenever they do see each other, it’s not to catch up on their own lives -- it’s to ask ( _to worry_ ) about Eggsy.

Roxy nods at Merlin and makes her way out of the room, leaving him alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, the title says part 1! I have an essay due in a few days, but it's a shorter one so I'm hoping to get part 2 (likely the last part of A Few Good Days) up soon and then maybe take a few days break to work on the essay/study for my first test. 
> 
> Things to look forward to: the next warehouse, Eggsy snooping around where Melanie works, and some more bonding between Julian and Eggsy.


	9. A Few Good Days, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another warehouse down.
> 
> Also, Merlin and Roxy are confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is more from Merlin's side of things than Eggsy's and Julian's. Also, I feel like Merlin would have a hard time remembering to call Eggsy 'Bors' in his head for some reason

They make it to the warehouse without any problems, like usual. This time, however, Eggsy and Julian share a warm smile before clicking their glasses on and settling into Bors and Percival, and it feels so natural in a way that hasn’t for either of them in a long time. (Over a month has passed since Eggsy’s last mission with Roxy, since the last time they grinned at each other, cocked their guns, and aced their duties together. Much, much more time has gone by since Julian and James worked in tandem, and though his chest still aches when he remembers those missions, he can feel it easing a fraction as he smiles back at the younger agent.)

Glasses on and weapons tucked in their suits, the two agents meander on into the warehouse.

Merlin’s on the other side of the feed again. (He doesn’t think about how he checks in on Eggsy just as much as Roxy and Harry do. Nope.) Before they slip inside the side entrance, he silently notes the difference in their demeanor. He has no clue _what_ exactly it is or even what has changed, but, despite Eggsy’s earlier almost-outburst, the young man is relaxed, ready, and _happy_. Percival is, too, which has him blinking in surprise. Percival was always a closed off man, and the previous Lancelot’s death had only made it worse, but now he’s _smiling_? (Just a little. It’s not a full blown grin, though it is significantly _more_ than Merlin had seen on the man’s face in months.) All he can do, as he guides them to the first group of guards, is file it away for later.

“Up on your left,” Merlin warns.

Percival stops and lays a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder. They share a glance that evidently means _something_ to them, because Eggsy just quirks an eyebrow before nodding and letting Percival take the lead, leaving Merlin _in the fucking dark here_. The worst part is that they _need_ to be silent to remain undetected - he can’t even ask them to keep him in the loop.

So Percival moves on ahead, Eggsy trailing after him. He gets one guard with a sudden, brutal blow to the base of his neck and the other with an amnesia dart without pausing to aim. The first is laid down on the ground before the other can even fall, and not a sound other than a muffled thud and a brief choked out gasp is heard during the whole maneuver. It’s pretty standard for Percival, nothing Merlin hasn’t seen a million times before, but what’s _curious_ is that Eggsy, standing off to the side, appears to be _studying it_. Of course, Merlin knows the young man _isn’t_ stupid and that he _does_ pay attention and learn despite what people may think based on his behavior. It’s just that, well, usually he learns by doing. Usually, he has a hard time staying still, even if he _is_ watching.

The two agents share another look. Merlin’s knuckles go white, briefly, against the handle of his mug.

“There’s another set of guards ahead. Go straight until you get to the third intersection and take another left,” he says evenly. _As long as they’re getting it done_ , he tells himself, _there’s no bloody reason to complain_.

This time, Eggsy takes the lead.

They move swiftly but quietly down the hall, following his directions, and while both of them are obviously at ease with each other, Percival is also a half a step behind his colleague. The encounter with the guards plays out practically like it did before, but in reverse - and with a few improvisions that are wholly Eggsy.

Resting his umbrella against the wall, he strides forward and hits the man hard enough to jolt him forward, to send him falling to his knees before pulling him back and settling the man gently on the ground. The other guard fumbles for a tazer. Eggsy’s already in motion and wraps his legs around the man’s arm, twists them both to the ground (thankfully with only a dull thud), and manages to make the man taze himself.

Quick, efficient, and, visually, _very_ much like Percival’s approach.

Merlin frowns. “Alright, keep heading straight. I’ll let you know when you’re getting closer.”

This is _strange_. Especially after the last mission, when Eggsy went off on his own, completely disregarding Percival’s and his own orders. As he’s debating whether or not to make a note about it for Harry, there’s a polite knock on the wall behind him. It’s Roxy.

“Do you mind if I sit?” she says, gesturing to the screens.

_Ah_ , he thinks. _It_ is _the first time she’s been free and at headquarters while Eggsy and Percival are in action._

He briefly switches his side of the comm off so as not to distract the agents. “Take a seat.”

Giving him a quick smile, she does so and focuses right on the screen.

“Turn right at the next intersection,” he says into the comm again. “There’s a guard there at the vending machine. His partner is further down the hall.”

Percival takes him out as a bag of chips falls into the bin. Eggsy gets the other one right after.

“Good,” Merlin mutters. “Now, take the steps up to the catwalk. The office is across the way.”

Unlike the last time, Percival stays out with Eggsy to finish off the extra guards centered by the entrance, and, bizarrely enough, Merlin and Roxy can hear him giving the younger man _advice_.

“Small movements, Bors. Don’t over-dodge,” and “He’s down, not out - watch your ankles,” and even, “Remember earlier?”

He finishes with a “Good work, Bors” as Eggsy flips himself over a stumbling guard and uses the momentum to crack the man’s head against the metal grid of the catwalk. Together, they move into the office and sift through the drawers.

Roxy’s brow furrows. “Merlin?”

“I don’t know what happened,” he says, putting his mug down before he cracks it. “I just _don’t_ bloody know.”

This time, as Percival and Eggsy walk out of the rigged warehouse, the glasses are on to catch the grins they share (Percival’s much more subdued than Eggsy’s but there nevertheless). 

Roxy absently reaches out for just a moment before yanking her hand back down. “ _Merlin?_ ”

“I know,” he says, staring at the feed as the two men get into the car. “They were smiling when they walked in, too.”

“He looks happy. Percival. Eggsy, _both_ of them,” she says, bewildered.

“They do.”

“I haven’t seen Uncle Julian smile in a while,” she whispers. “And Eggsy…”

He glances at her but doesn’t correct her on the names, aware of the friendship between Percival and her father. Besides, the comm is off on his side already. “Percival took your predecessor’s death very hard.”

“I never met him,” she says as she drags her gaze away from the screen.

“Percival has never been open with his life. The previous Lancelot was, but he understood your mentor’s reasons.”

“They were together, right? My family went to the funeral.” 

Merlin hates to shoot her down - especially because she is a bright young agent and he doesn’t want her to think she _can’t_ ask questions - but it isn’t his place to talk about James and what he meant to Julian. “Yes. If you want to know any more than that, you’ll need to ask Percival.”

Although she deflates a bit, Roxy nods firmly.

 

They’re back at the house, glasses off. He’s running on the high of the action, like always, and he knows he’ll probably be a bit sore once it wears off. Eggsy grins at Julian again. “‘M sort ‘f hungry. I don’t supp’se you could whip somethin’ up?”

Julian looks at him, _really_ looks at him before answering. “If you can take care of yourself, I suppose I could. The bruise salve is -”

“In the cab’net, I know.”

“Pancakes?”

“Fuckin’ ace, you are, Jules.”

Julian stops with a serious face, then, and puts a hand on Eggsy’s shoulder. “You better believe I am.”

Eggsy’s laughter echoes down the hall as they both go to change.

 

They eat in the den, because they’re both too wired to keep up their covers. Though Julian isn’t wired enough to stop from _insisting_ on coasters and placemats. ( _To protect the furniture and carpet, Eggsy. - In a house tha’ ain’t ours to begin wit’? - That only makes it_ more _important that we be careful._ )

It’s almost become their ritual now, over the last few days, to watch a Bond movie together. Though Julian is all too aware that James would be miffed at the order they’re watching them in ( _If you haven’t seen any of Connery’s, we absolutely must to start with_ Dr. No _, Jules. Move over._ ), he knows that both he and Eggsy couldn’t care less. _Thunderball_ goes in tonight.

“Is it ‘ard?” Eggsy says softly as Bond’s girl of the week asks him if he only slept with her to get to her guardian. The pancakes are long gone.

Julian lays an arm around his shoulders in comfort. “Is what hard?”

“Bein’ in a relationship. In this job.”

Julian hums, thinking for a moment. “It depends. James was an agent before I was. He understood why I was gone so often, and I understood the same for him.”

There’s a moment of silence between them. The villain catches the girl on the screen. “Even though you knew ‘e migh’ not come back?” Eggsy’s voice is small, much too small and insecure.

“ _Yes_ ,” Julian says after another moment, his voice rough. “Eggsy, when you love someone as much as I did - _do_ \- James, it hurts whether you allow yourself to be with them _or not_.”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Eggsy whispers. “Yeah, I get ya.”

They watch more of the movie, though neither of them are _actually_ paying attention anymore. Julian hits the stop button as Bond wrestles with the villain on his boat.

“Would you like to hear about how James and I started dating?” he says casually.

 

“ _Oh, yeah_ ,” Eggsy says to Melanie, taking a big bite of his burrito. “I asked some questions, he told some stories. We watched a movie. You know, bonding shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started a fic just for Percilot drabbles! Most of them will likely be related back to this fic, so I've put them both in a series together. The first chapter is Julian telling Eggsy how they started dating ;) (If you have any prompts for Percilot related to this fic or otherwise, please do comment with them or get me on my tumblr!)
> 
> Next chapter will definitely have Eggsy snooping around after his session with Melanie. Merlin and Roxy butt their way into this chapter so I didn't have room :)
> 
> (Again, finals, ew. I'll try and update this within the next few days, though)


	10. Vent-ing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy crawls through a vent. That's basically the chapter (plus some snooping, some Merlin, and some Julian).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For people who read my other Hartwin fics, yep, this is not the first time I've had Eggsy crawl through a vent. I just _really_ like the idea for some reason. (And it gave me a wonderfully bad title, too!)

Melanie’s cell phone chimes twice in quick succession. 

“ _Shit_ ,” she mutters. “I’ve gotta -- Mom wants me to copy some stuff and mail it out. Can we cut this short?”

“No problem. I can find my own way out, if that helps,” Eggsy says, grateful that he doesn’t have to lie and say he needs to go to the bathroom (as he and Julian originally planned). If Melanie’s busy, she won’t find him wandering the halls as he gets ‘lost’ either. 

She grins. “Thanks, Eddie.”

 

_Done early_ , he sends to Julian before closing the door behind him, their food trash in his hand. The layout of the building with marked spots to check was in the folder Merlin had left in the plane for them weeks ago, so he has the paths memorized. Down the hall, take a right, slip into the bathroom to avoid approaching steps (and get rid of the trash), down, left, left, down, wave at flustered intern, right, double back as soon as the hall’s empty, and on the left is one of the file rooms -- the employee record room. He slips on a pair of gloves, takes his slim tool kit from his pocket, and works on picking the lock.

In his ear he can hear the whisper of a curse just as he’s got a hand on a file. “Bors, incoming down the hall,” Merlin says.

Eggsy nods once. Merlin might not be able to see his face, but seeing the movement is better than not knowing if he got the message, he figures. Then he’s moving, pulling a small screwdriver out of his tool kit and removing and pocketing the screws on the vent in the corner. He slips in, holds the cover in place. 

The door opens.

“ _Stevenson, Stevenson_ ,” he hears, muttered, through the vent. A peek through the grill of the cover reveals the speaker to be another intern, distinguishable by the badge on his chest. The man pulls a file out halfway, stuffs it back down, and then grabs another, this time taking it and leaving the room in a rush.

A moment passes.

“You’re clear,” Merlin says.

Nodding once more, Eggsy eases himself out of the vent and places the cover back in without bothering to replace the screws just yet. Picking the lock, thankfully, is easier this time. He flips through the files, looking, looking, look-- _finding_ , and he grins as he takes a series of photographs with his glasses, the sound of Merlin hm-ing in the background. 

“Good work, Bors,” the man murmurs over the comm. “Now get out of there. Percival’s ETA is just under three minutes.”

But Eggsy shakes his head. Three minutes? Enough time to hit another spot, _surely_.

“Bors,” Merlin says firmly.

It doesn’t stop him, and Eggsy merely brushes aside the slight pang in his chest at the _disappointment/worry/frustration_ in the man’s voice before sticking the screws back in the vent cover, picking it up carefully, and slipping behind it again. Although it takes some awkward maneuvering, he manages to screw them in through the grill at least enough to hold the cover on. The vent he’s in is actually surprisingly large. There’s room to curl up tight and twist around until he can crawl deeper in.

The layout they’d been given _did_ have the maze of vents included -- something that came with the plan itself and that Merlin no doubt figured they would ignore. Eggsy, though, well, he’s crawled through vents before (just twice but enough) and is flexible enough, strong enough, to make it work for him. Focusing on the sudden twist up in the vent shaft and the shimmying and legwork he has to do to climb up through it helps him ignore the voice in his ear.

Until it’s not just Merlin.

 

Julian takes his time making his way out of the office and down to the parking lot. By arranging to take his lunch break slightly later in the day, he’s able to pick Eggsy up from his tutoring sessions, which are down the highway from the neighborhood. It might look a little weird, but they only have the one car, and his picking the younger agent up is apparently endearing to the women in the neighborhood. It _also_ allows him to be an excuse for Eggsy loitering back at the company after the sessions. Still, he knows the agent needs time to find what he’s looking for, and Julian waiting for him outside might send someone looking for his ‘son’.

“Percival,” Merlin says, frustrated, in his ear as he’s getting closer to Eggsy.

Since he checks the car for bugs every time he gets in it, he knows no one is listening in. “Yes, Merlin?”

“Bors is checking another spot. I need you to be ready to get him out if this goes south.”

Julian hums. “Could you patch me into his comm?” There’s a soft click in his ear. “Bors? Tap the frames if you can hear me.”

 

_Jules?_ he thinks, hefting himself up into the next horizontal strip of vent shaft. He hesitates but taps the frames of his glasses anyway.

“Good. Are you able to tell me where you are? Or should I ask Merlin?”

Morse code is something he learned a few years back. His mind races for the right sequences. It takes a few seconds to come to him, and he slowly taps it out. _Vent._

“Clever, Bors, and a good use of your abilities. James was quite… _flexible_ as well, though I don’t believe he ever made use of vents. Such a shame.” There’s a wistful tone in the man’s voice, a pride, a warmth.

Eggsy grins.

 

Merlin rubs his temples, wondering, _yet again_ , if he should write Harry a note. (He won’t, because he’s afraid it’d make the man stay in the Arthur office _more_ if that’s even possible.)

“Percival,” he says sharply. “I didn’t mean for you to _encourage_ the lad.”

Through the feed, he can see the man glance up at the rearview window, looking wholly unimpressed. “I didn’t think you did, Merlin, but the fact of the matter is that I’m _quite_ sure Bors won’t need my assistance. You may cut the link between the comms now, if you wish.”

He does. “Keep moving, Bors,” he bites out.

 

_Roger that_ , Eggsy taps out against the frames, gaining confidence as he slowly remembers all of the letters. It’s easier to crawl through the vents now, to carefully lower himself headfirst down the vertical shaft and turn at the next intersection of the horizontal shaft, knowing that, despite the click in his ear signalling the end of the connection to Julian, he’s not alone in this. He’s disobeying orders, sure, but he’s _not_ being reckless, stupid. 

Peeking through the grill at the end, he grins again as he notices the room is empty. It stays that way as he painstakingly removes the screws, first with a blindly aimed screwdriver and then with the fingers he can fit through the gaps in the grill. This file room is connected to the manager’s office -- the ex-Mr. Burne’s and now Mrs. Burne’s office. Perhaps it’s risky, but he _knows_ Merlin won’t abandon him in this, won’t let him get caught no matter what tension exists between them. Eggsy will get a head’s up if someone gets near the door.

There aren’t even locks on the cabinets this time (likely because the door has a keypad _and_ a deadbolt according to the Kingsman file), so he slowly opens the drawer, finds the files he needs, and photographs them. Up the vent he goes again. This time, though, he takes a much shorter route to the closest bathroom. It ends right above a stall, and he drops down, flushes the toilet, and washes his hands before heading out the door and wandering to the lobby.

His phone vibrates against his leg. 

_Here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got final exams and papers until Thursday at 11:59pm, unfortunately, and they're not as spaced out as the two I've already done, so I'm not sure when another chapter will be up. I'm hoping to get some of my papers done early, so hopefully I can at least squeeze another update in before then!
> 
> Also, I can't say for certain (my outline for this is very vague), but I'd say we're over halfway through the America part of the fic.


	11. From the Office of Arthur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Harry wants and doesn't want.
> 
> (AKA, Harry is frustrated and bottling his feelings up.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is Harry-centric! We'll get back to Eggsy and Julian next chapter, though

Being Arthur is much different than being Galahad ever was. Sometimes there are still late night calls, but they don’t send him across the world – in fact, he doesn’t even have to leave _the house_ after those calls. Leaving the country is actually not something he can do much, if at all, anymore, because he has to be able to lead, to make the big decisions when missions go wrong, and that requires him to be within a short distance from headquarters. Not to mention that if he was captured by an enemy, there’s more at risk. His codes can open any file in the Kingsman database, and although Merlin could easily override him (a newer safety measure put in place after Chester’s betrayal), it would take several seconds and wouldn’t be fast enough to stop at least _some_ vital information from getting stolen. As Arthur, Harry and Merlin are simply two of the most vulnerable parts of the organization. It’s best if they stay in London.

_Which is immensely frustrating._

Years before, when Merlin finally became _Merlin_ instead of just another face in the tech department, the man complained and almost asked for a demotion. ( _Almost_.) Harry listened to him over drinks on nights they both had free, and he remembers the way his friend talked about his new job, about how claustrophobic it was, about how _little_ he could actually _do_ , and, admittedly, he just nodded and poured them both more drinks, because it sounded _silly_. How could a promotion – _the_ promotion Merlin had been working for _since he had been recruited_ – be so bad? How could finally getting to be in control of the department he thrived in be limiting? Sure, he didn’t get to go with agents to either outfit them or support them with the right tech, and the few times he _was_ allowed to go abroad was on special circumstances. In other words, Merlin only got to leave the U.K. when there was a very low risk of him being captured. It _still_ seemed like such a stupid little concession to make for the job of a lifetime.

Now Harry understands all too well. He spends his time in the Arthur office with occasional meetings in the conference room or lunches with Merlin in the tech department. He can’t bring himself to spend much time at all in his house – not with the little signs of Eggsy’s time there. _Months_ of time. To keep up the ruse of Harry’s death, the young man’s request to stay in Harry’s house instead of being assigned a new one of his own was granted, and although his mother and baby sister moved into a separate house, Eggsy spent most of his nights at his ‘dead’ mentor’s. Not much of it was changed over that time, the grief still too strong for him to tear down Harry’s wall of headlines, to put Mr. Pickles away, or even to clear out the master bedroom, so he stayed in the guest room he spent that one night in and added his own touches to rooms he used the most frequently. Harry himself had planned on staying at the Arthur suite at headquarters (built in case of an emergency) until he could better explain himself, until they could work out their issues.

The day Eggsy boarded that plane with Percival, Harry found his old house keys on his desk.

There was no note with them. It would be unprofessional (and likely unwelcome) of him to contact the man during his mission – not with Merlin as his handler and no important news for Harry to pass along. He can’t even go and be ready to provide backup, because the two agents are _across an ocean_. The only thing he _can_ do is keep track of their progress.

Harry watches the feeds. Not live, of course, because he does have quite a lot of responsibilities during his scheduled hours at headquarters, but when he’s technically off the clock, whether it’s during meal breaks or simply after he should have gone home, he plugs his codes into the computer and watches. He _almost_ wishes he could stay away.

The feeds are simultaneously comforting and painful to watch. Eggsy is, as he suspected, a rather amazing Kingsman agent, and watching the man take down guards without a fuss in a bespoke suit with _Harry’s_ own preferred choice of weapons makes him proud. His partner is an ideal choice for his first long term mission, too. Percival has seen just about everything in his time and has overcome it all just as any gentleman should. Even the man’s calmer, more calculated way of carrying out his duties is a good contrast to Eggsy’s that won’t actually clash – the older agent has worked with people with similar attitudes to the young man before and successfully, too. But that’s also the problem.

Harry has watched all of Eggsy’s feeds, despite Merlin’s worried looks and attempts at convincing him not to, and he’d have to be stupid not to see the similarities between Eggsy and the former Lancelot, James. They used similar moves, because James had known some gymnastics, too. They both enjoyed the job, were gleeful even while injured, and believed there was _always_ a way to complete a mission, even if the enemy was chasing them down. This doesn’t bother Harry. Eggsy has finished all of his missions without risking himself stupidly. There’s no reason to critique his methods, and he had never intended for the young man to fight just like him, because the point was that Eggsy had his own strengths. Harry just wanted to pull them out, to encourage him to hone the talents he’d let fall to the side.

No, the problem is that Harry never got a chance to do that, and it doesn’t look like he ever will. But _Percival_? Percival is guiding Eggsy now. Guiding him, encouraging him, and getting closer to him. They smile at each other. They cook for each other. The older agent is actively brushing Merlin off for Eggsy, and every single time they look at each other, _Harry wants to shoot something_. Before, he could excuse it all away – wasn’t it good for Eggsy to be branching out? He needed more friends at Kingsman than just Roxy and Merlin and Harry. In fact, Harry was happy that he was actively taking missions with people he hadn’t interacted with much before.

It’s just that, well, _this_ isn’t what Harry wanted.

He doesn’t want Percival and Eggsy bonding _that_ way. He doesn’t want them doing whatever they do together when they turn off their glasses. (He can only imagine what they _actually_ do, and none of it is comforting. Eggsy can do whatever he wants to romantically, really, but it doesn’t change the fact that Harry doesn’t want him to kiss Percival, to cuddle with Percival, to be _flexible_ with Percival.)

What Harry _does_ want is for this damn mission to be over. He wants to talk to Eggsy, to explain himself, to apologize like he was going to before the man shut down. Even if they can just get back to what they had before.

He won’t say a word about whatever is going on between Eggsy and Percival. He won’t. He’ll be a mentor and a friend. If they decide to make it public, he’ll congratulate them like any friend would.

(Percival, his mind tells him, would make a much better partner than Harry. At least for Eggsy. He’s closer to Eggsy’s age – not older than his father like Harry is. He’s more used to sharing his life than Harry is. He knows how to sustain a relationship for the long term. He’s gentle, he’s not jealous or possessive, he’s already good at getting Eggsy to grin.

He hasn’t, Harry’s mind points out, ever slaughtered a church full of innocents. He hasn’t lied to Eggsy. He hasn’t ever made Eggsy go blank, hurt, _betrayed_. He hasn’t destroyed the trust between them until Eggsy felt he needed to leave the _continent_.)

Harry Hart will never be more to Eggsy Unwin than a friend at best, a boss at worst. He has to be okay with that. He will be okay with that. ( _Someday_.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've written out a very rough outline (before I just had a list of events I wanted to go through), and it looks like there might be around 30 chapters total with six or seven more wrapping up the America arc. That might sound like a lot, but I feel like while it might be easy for Eggsy to push aside Merlin, Roxy, and Harry in America, it'll be harder for him to do so in London, so with some nudges from Percival, things shouldn't take incredibly long to resolve. 
> 
> I've still got some finals (a paper due Thursday night and a fiction portfolio that's been extended to Sunday night, though I'm hoping to finish that by Friday), so no idea when the next chapter will be up. Within a week, definitely.


	12. Hitting the Jackpot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian gets the invitation he's been waiting for. Roxy overhears something startling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being so patient during my finals!! I'm finally done with them, so the updates will hopefully not take as long as they have the last few weeks. (I do have a friend leaving the country in a few days, though, so I won't be able to update every day or anything. Maybe every other.)
> 
> Things are starting to pick up now! Within the next few chapters we'll start to see some real action ;)

When Julian fetches the mail the next evening, there's a plain blue envelope tucked between the bills. He opens it right away.

"What are you smiling at, Pops?" Eggsy says as he flicks on the oven light. Dinner is baking away in there, some kind of chicken that he could smell all the way up in his room. 

Julian doesn't even scold him for cracking the oven door open to get a stronger whiff.

"Pops?" It can't be bad, though, not with that smile, so Eggsy grins, too.

"It looks as if you'll be on your own for dinner tomorrow, Son," Julian says with just a touch of smugness. He slides the paper across the counter. "Your Pops has a poker game to attend."

It's a pretty basic letter with just the bare-bones of information on the game -- date, time, place, buy-in minimum. This has been his main task during the mission ever since the block party. If he can get in on the poker games, the men in the neighborhood might let him in on whatever it is that's happening behind the scenes, tell him things that aren't kept on paper. 

"Just as you predicted, Percival," Merlin says over the comm, satisfied. (Perhaps he's still off balance from _whatever_ is happening between the man and Eggsy, but he can't deny a job well done. Not to mention that the sooner the mission is over, the sooner they'll be back in London and working on their damn issues.)

With a small nod to show he heard, Julian tucks the letter back in the envelope and pulls out two plates and two bowls. "Could you set the table, Eddie?"

He does. It's not something he even has to think about anymore. Knowing how to set a table could be surprisingly crucial to a mission (particularly undercover ones), so it's second nature to put all of the pieces into place. "Do you know how to play poker?" Eggsy asks suddenly as he straightens the forks.

Julian hums. The oven timer beeps. "Your mother taught me many years ago. She was horrified I didn't already know how." There's a note of fondness in his voice that makes them both smile.

"Was she any good?"

"Very good. I only ever won a few hands against her."

Eggsy laughs. "Yeah? Mom was a badass, wasn't she?"

"Quite," Julian says, setting the dish of chicken on a mat on the table. "There's a bowl of salad in the fridge behind you. Could you --?"

"Sure, Pops."

 

Eggsy has to stay behind the next night, because even if the poker game isn't _really_ about poker at all, even if this night is more dangerous than any of the nights so far, the invitation was for Julian _only_. And really, he knows Julian can take care of himself. He's had much more experience with this than Eggsy has. 

(Not that that stopped Harry from falling into two comas, almost dying, and almost losing an eye -- all within a year of his one phone call.)

So he _shouldn't_ be worried. He is. He's very, very worried, because what if they're not prepared for what's at the game? What if they've been found out? What if Julian's walking into a _fucking trap?_

"I assume you'll still be awake when I get back?" Julian says, laying a hand on Eggsy's shoulder. He looks like he knows exactly what's going through the younger agent's mind.

"Might be." Eggsy tries to smile.

"If you are, I wouldn't be averse to watching another film. What do you say? _On Her Majesty's Secret Service_ as soon as I come back?"

Eggsy looks at him, _really_ looks at him. Of course they're not in the damn den, so they can't just talk agent to agent, but he's pretty sure the man is telling him not to worry. That he'll come back. (He purposefully does not think of the last time someone told him that and let him down.) "Yeah."

"It's a date, then," Julian says cheerfully. It's a promise. He takes his hand off Eggsy's shoulder and takes his lumpy jacket off the hook by the door, which has several Kingsman tools sewed in the lining of it to make up for the lack of normal weapons he can carry in his undercover clothes. Guns are much easier to hide in suits than in polos and jeans.

 

Neither of them hear Merlin gagging on his tea, because the comm is thankfully turned off on his end. He curses hoarsely as soon as he can. _A fucking date_. If that doesn't confirm his suspicions, he doesn't know _what_ will, and at this point he's honestly just happy they turn off their feeds at a certain point in the night. He really, truly does not need to see them make out or, _god forbid_ , fuck.

"Merlin?"

_Fuck_. He turns around to see Roxy in the doorway, still in her dress from the gala they sent her to undercover. Her face is pale. 

"Did Uncle Julian just --" The words stick in her throat, her tongue heavy and clumsy all of a sudden.

"Flirt with Eggsy? I believe so."

She sits down on an empty chair. "How long?" Instead of shocked, she mostly just sounds curious, and Merlin silently praises her for how well she's taken it.

"I'm not sure. They were at it a few days ago, too."

"Oh," Roxy says softly, hesitating. "They were... getting along quite well last time I stopped in."

"Yes, they were," he says with a grimace. 

Maybe Roxy's taking it well, but _Harry?_ Harry's not going to respond well to this _at all_ , and Merlin knows it.

"I always thought he had a crush on Arthur, honestly," she says. "The way he talked about him..."

"Eggsy? You may be right, but with the way he reacted to seeing him again, that window may have passed." There's a grim tone to his words that makes her look at him curiously.

"Merlin, does Arthur --"

"Gossip is unbecoming of a gentleman or a lady," he says wearily but gives her a look and a shrug that tell her all she needs to know. _I think so._

"Right, well, I think I've had my fill of missions for the day. I just stopped by to return the recording device." The glasses didn't particularly go with her attire for the gala, so he outfitted her with a necklace and earrings that had some of the same capabilities as the standard issue frames did. They were part of a line of gadgets he'd designed just for her.

"Keep them," he says, taking a small sip of his tea. "You might need them again sometime."

She smiles and leaves, and he's left to watch Percival playing poker.

 

_Win poker_ , too. They've played a few hands so far, and he's won twice (and lost some of the rest on purpose). Nothing so far has been said about anything he couldn't have gotten from people out and about in the neighborhood, but, as an agent with many undercover missions in his file, he knows that doesn't mean it's a bust. The night isn't over yet.

After another two hands, they take a break. Greg Stome pulls out a box of cigars.

"Jack," Alan Kelvin says as he walks up to stand next to Percival. "You seem like a smart man."

Classic, cliché, and Percival knows his part of the mission has suddenly become much more successful. "Am I?" he jokes awkwardly around the cigar between his teeth.

Alan chuckles. "We think you're just the man we need," he says. "I'm sure you're aware of the issues after that thing with the SIM cards."

"The need for massive reconstruction of governments and economies across the world?" With many CEOs and politicians dead and many workers injured or dead as well, many companies that had lasted for years, for decades, were collapsing. New groups were cropping up. People were scrambling, panicked and desperate for more structure. They weren't _thinking_ about what they were really doing, and that made people like these men (as Percival suspected) all the more dangerous.

"Of course. You see, our boss was one of the... casualties. They found him in his panic room with his brains across the wall. We've been handling the company ourselves now."

_That_ hadn't been in the report, and judging by the muffled curse across the comm, Merlin hadn't known at all. _Curious_. Usually, he was incredibly thorough with the reports. If the old boss was powerful enough to be offered an implant, what was he up to? And furthermore, why was his cause of death covered up?

"It seems to be running well," Percival says, taking a puff of his cigar. "I was just there the other day to pick up Eddie."

"We're doing alright," Greg interjects, "but we're always open to new business partners. Denise suggested you, said you were trustworthy."

"You see, the business goes deeper than what you see on paper," Alan continues. "We voted Collins in as the head, because he was the closest to it before."

Stan Becker, their last poker buddy, takes a swig of cheap beer and says, "What he's trying to tell you is that our biggest, most popular product is drugs. You name it, we sell it and regulate it. Sales have been up since the day everything went to shit. Most of the dealers locally and for the next several towns around died that day in fights, and the rest, we've bought. We almost have a monopoly on drugs in Ohio now, and we want to expand, which means more partners to share the load."

"And you want me?" Percival says skeptically. 'Jack' wasn't a criminal, and his morals, though perhaps not perfect, were still intact.

"Denise said you were good with numbers," Alan says. "We need an accountant."

 

"Good work, Percival," Merlin says as soon as Percival's in the car again.

The agent nods and turns the keys, heading home to Eggsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have also written a drabble about James finding out Julian doesn't know how to play poker, and that'll be up in the second story in this series really soon!
> 
> Next chapter: Eggsy snoops some more and finds some important stuff.


	13. Knowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy goes snooping some more, Julian gets a look at the company's books, and they watch another movie.
> 
> Oh, and Harry reacts to the 'date'.

Harry's watching the feeds again. He really, _really_ shouldn't, because every time he does, he wishes he didn't. This time is no exception.

Eggsy looks so worried, so _raw_ over Percival's feed, and Harry can see the older agent's hand on Eggsy's shoulder, can hear the man --

_I assume you'll still be awake when I get back?_

\-- and he can feel the fabric of his trousers getting wrinkled in his fists, because all he can imagine is Eggsy waiting for Percival in the _bedroom_ , and --

_It's a date, then._

He's out of his chair, pacing furiously across the room as the feed continues. 

"Harry," Merlin says cautiously from the doorway.

Harry doesn't answer. 

This isn't the first time Merlin's seen him like this, though it's been years since his friend has so obviously shown his agitation, and he knows Harry won't say a word, so he doesn't bother to ask what the problem is. It's easy enough to find out, with the screen on the desk still active. Coming around the desk, he sees Percival's feed up, the man himself being ushered into the room with the poker table all set up, and Merlin curses.

"How much longer?" Harry says, slowing in his pacing.

"Harry --"

" _How much longer?_ "

"I'm not sure. At least another week. If you read the report, Percival was able to get an in last night, so the mission should move more swiftly from now on."

"Good," Harry says and sits down again. Not that he seems to have calmed. If anything, he looks tenser, and as he reaches out to fast forward through the feed, Merlin tenses, too.

" _Harry_ ," he says firmly, but he's too late.

The feed picks up again outside of 'Jack's' house. Percival's car pulls into the driveway, and the man gets out of it, heading up to the front door. Inside is Eggsy, perched right on the steps to the second floor, and though there's something anxious about the way his mouth is set, he slowly looks over the agent from top to bottom. The feed is still. Percival is _letting him do it._

_I'm back,_ the man says simply.

The grin that breaks out on Eggsy's face hurts worse than the _damn_ bullet Harry took to the head, and --

"Harry," Merlin says, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm --

 

\-- _sorry_ , Eggsy thinks as he knocks on Melanie's office door for their fourth study session. The problem is that he likes Melanie. If he was only _pretending_ to like her, it wouldn't bother him every time he has to lie, to use her for this _damn_ mission, and he knows that no matter how awful he feels now, it'll only be worse later.

Later, when she either knows 'Eddie' was a fucking spy all along who lied not only about his nationality but _his age_ , too, or when 'Eddie' and 'Jack' move on, and she spends who knows how long missing a stack of lies.

He hides a wince as she opens the door.

"Toll?" she says playfully, holding her hand out.

He hands over the bag of burgers he picked up from the diner down the road into her hand. "With extra fries this time," he says with a wink.

She blushes, no doubt remembering the four fries she'd left for him last time.

 

The session isn't really any different than the others -- they go over something Eggsy vaguely remembers from school years before, Melanie eats most of the fries, and Mrs. Burne cuts it short by requesting her daughter's help with something via text.

And Eggsy wanders down the halls to the file room. It's not that he still needs anything out of that specific room, but it has a great, low vent for him to enter into and crawl through to other rooms he needs to get to. It's also a room that he can slip into without much risk of getting caught. 

"Head to the main file room," Merlin reminds him.

Eggsy nods. This time is just like the first. Although he'd visited several other rooms during his last two visits, now he actually knows what he's looking for. Thanks to Julian, they know the former boss was chipped by Valentine. It wasn't too surprising, honestly, because he was the owner of a pretty big company, but still, the older agent thinks it might have had something to do with their criminal activity, and Eggsy trusts the man's instincts. He'll get the file on the boss. Hopefully, it will shed some light.

So he crawls through the vent system the same way he did the first time but to the soft rustling, tapping, and humming he's come to associate Merlin with rather than the man's disappointment. It's soothing, really. (It would only be better if it didn't feel so distant. He doesn't pause in his crawling even as the pangs of longing and regret hit him.)

He reaches the room connected to the main office, looks through the vent cover to make sure no one's there, carefully takes out each screw, and drops out onto the floor. The files are no differently set up than they were before, there are still no locks inside the room, and the old boss' file is still there. All in all, it takes just over a minute for him to scan the file and slip back into the vent.

Julian pulls up just as he walks out the door.

 

As soon as Julian drops him off at the house, Eggsy goes straight to the den to get a better look at the files. Merlin, of course, is already looking at them, but his partner won't be back until 'Jack's' workday is over, and now that there's actually something specific to look for, he _can't_ sit still and wait.

He skims the file on his glasses. There's basic biographical data (date of birth, name, sex, address, etc.), some notes on his position in the company, and a copy of his last expense report. The last part is what catches his eye.

"Merlin?"

"Bors?" 

He flinches slightly at the flat, purely professional tone but pushes past it. "Do you see tha'?"

"The expense report? It looks standard."

"Looks empty. _I_ charge more on missions."

"Get to the point, Bors," Merlin says, and at least he sounds a little curious now.

"The boss, 'e didn't write many charges off as bus'ness expenses, yeah? But 'is file says 'e went to some _fuckin' fancy_ places on trips. Most of the other agents are rich, but even they charge their meals to the account. 'Ccording to the file, 'e weren't earnin' that much, not compared to other CEOs. Where's the charges?"

There's silence over the feed.

"Merlin?"

"I'm here, Bors. It might have been drug money. We'll have to wait for Percival's findings to see if we can confirm," the man says. He hesitates, just for a moment, before continuing with a hint of warmth, "Good catch, Eggsy."

It startles him, so he just nods in response. 

 

"They wouldn't let me see everything," Julian says later that night. After work, he stopped by the company and looked at their books under Alan Kelvin's supervision. "But they were quite sloppy. I'm certain that taking out Collins and the poker group will collapse the whole background organization. The previous boss was clearly in charge of it, too, but with his death --"

"-- They lost all of his connections. I did a check; most of the company's old business partners are all dead," Merlin cuts in. "Now, I can't tell if they were chipped, too, but if his cause of death was covered up --"

"It's likely," Julian finishes.

"Keep up the work," Merlin says, and they end the feed.

 

They eat dinner, they watch _Diamonds are Forever_ , and they fall asleep on the sofa, again. 

 

This time, however, it isn't Merlin or their phone alarms that wake them up. There's a noise coming from the hall -- like glass breaking, but muffled -- and both of them are up and alert.

Julian taps his frames meaningfully before switching them on. _Glasses, Eggsy._

Eggsy nods, switches his frames on as well, and makes exaggerated glances at the door, then the closet in the corner. The ceiling in it is false. All of the rooms in the house had at least two ways out, and if one of them pulled out the ceiling and hefted themselves up, they might be able to surprise whoever the intruder was.

He gets a small smile in response.

"I can't access the cameras," Merlin warns suddenly. There were small cameras imbedded in the corners of every room and hall in the house for situations like these. If they were disabled...

The intruder knows what they're doing, knows that Eggsy and Julian aren't 'Eddie' and 'Jack'.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally picking up! I think this might be the first cliffhanger in this story... hopefully it isn't too unbearable! I'm going to try and get chapter 14 up over the weekend. As a little teaser, my brief outline for this story has ch 14 noted as 'shit goes down'. ;D


	14. You Only Live Twice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This _is_ that kind of movie, honestly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are so, so many cliches in this chapter, but I feel like it works.

_The intruder knows what they're doing, knows that Eggsy and Julian aren't 'Eddie' and 'Jack'._

_**Fuck.** _

 

Julian is the first to move, his steps silent along the carpet as he pads over to his shoes, which he slips on calmly, as if he's merely getting ready to get the mail. He glances back at Eggsy and nods. It's time to move.

It's time to be Percival and Bors.

Bors deftly ties the laces on his left shoe before heading to the closet. Although Percival could surely pull himself through the false ceiling, this was something Bors was good at. Small, cramped places? Not a problem, he was flexible enough. Hefting his own weight up? Also not an issue, because he'd had to do that all the time when he did gymnastics as a kid, and he kept up with his body even after quitting. 

As Percival slowly, quietly makes his way to the door of the den, Bors hits the latches that keep the ceiling in place. The panel comes out easily enough. Above, the closet is dark, the door unopened. _Perfect._ It takes next to no effort for him to leverage himself up and onto the small bit of closet floor that isn't removable.

"I'm assuming you two can communicate on your own?" Merlin says wearily.

They both tap their glasses' frames, almost in sync. 

"Good. I'll be here. _If_ you need me." He sounds frustrated and worried, but neither of them have time for that right now.

Bors puts a steady hand on the doorknob of the closet. With the other, he taps away at his frames. _When._

_Stairs_ , he gets in response over the feed. The steps to the den aren't particularly creaky, but it's a sure bet that whoever is in the house is listening anyway, so Percival has to take it slow.

_Careful_ , Bors taps.

_Always._

Bors slips a hand into his hoodie and pulls out a gun. There's a knife in his sleeve, just in case.

_Now_ , he hears, and in seconds, he's out in the hallway, gun up and eyes alert. He moves around to the den stairs in the hopes of catching them from behind.

There are three gun shots and a thud.

"Move in, Bors," Merlin barks over the feed when he stills, terrified. "Four intruders, at least."

_Fuck, Jules,_ runs through his head as he darts down the hall to where the sounds of struggling are still going. The scene in front of him isn't comforting.

One of the intruders has an arm around Percival's neck as another kicks at his stomach, and although the agent has a gun, it's being wrestled out of his hands. His non-dominant wrist is at a weird angle. One of his shoes is off his foot, embedded in the wall by the blade.

They were obviously waiting to ambush him.

So Bors slinks forward to ambush _them_. He takes one down with his shoe blade, slicing through the leg of the man's trousers before he could even turn around. He shoots another in the arm while flipping the knife out of his sleeve and stabbing a third, but there must have been a bunch of them around the house looking for him, because a strong grip prevents him from ripping the knife out of the man's shoulder. 

They slam him down face-first into the ground. His nose breaks, gushing blood. Still, he ignores it and slips out of the grip to yank another intruder down by their ankle. He rolls over, arches, and flips himself up, kicking another man even as he steadies himself.

" _Bors_ ," Merlin shouts, but he's too late.

"Fucker," one of them growls before he's being tackled, knocked out.

 

So _maybe_ they underestimated the mission.

Eggsy wakes up in a warehouse. Of that much, he's certain, because weeks of snooping around them and blowing them up was enough to give him a good idea of what they look like. He's also tied to a chair, and he knows _exactly_ what that feels like thanks to a quick mission in Brazil. 

Julian is also staring at him from his own chair about ten feet away.

Well, _fuck_.

Their shoes are gone, and he can tell that his weapons are, too. At least they still have their glasses, though his own are cracked badly. Julian nods at him before the feed crackles briefly.

"Bors?" Merlin says, and his voice is tinny in Eggsy's ear, likely because of the damage. "Turn your head left if you can hear me."

He does.

"Good. Backup is en route."

_Backup?_ They're _hours_ away even by plane. He glances over at Julian again and sees the resolve in the man's eyes. They're going to have to try their best to get out before backup arrives, or backup may not be able to save them anyway.

A group of footsteps can be heard, and when he looks over, he sees a group of men coming down one of the rows of boxes. One of them is a very pissed off Alan Kelvin.

"Eddie, I'm glad you're finally awake," the man says. 

"Hey, Mr. Kelvin," Eggsy replies mockingly. He's _really_ not in the mood for this.

"Do you know what you did, Eddie?" Alan pulls out the knife Eggsy had stabbed into one of the intruders' shoulders, and it only makes Eggsy laugh.

"Self defense?"

"You killed Greg," Alan says, "with your fucking _shoe_."

"Well, he did attack Pops first."

Alan ignores him. "I wanted to make sure you were awake before I did anything. I want you to feel it."

"'Cuz I'm _not_ feelin' it already?"

"Not enough."

Although Eggsy braces himself for a stabbing, it never comes. Alan slices the ropes on his chest, and from what he can see, someone is doing the same for Percival. It would be the perfect opportunity to wrestle the weapon back and get the fuck out of there.

If not for all the guards with guns.

"Is he really your 'Pops', Eddie? You two _do_ seem awfully close."

Julian gives him a look, and he knows to keep his cover. There's no point in letting it down now. Not when the men obviously _don't_ know anything about their real identities.

"I'd tell you to ask my mother, _but_ ," Eggsy says snarkily, shrugging his shoulders and smirking at the man.

Alan punches him. 

" _Eddie_ ," Julian says, mostly to bring the attention onto himself. 

It doesn't entirely work, but the man does step away from Eggsy and begins to pace lightly. "I wondered what I could do that would hurt as much as what you did to Greg. I thought about stabbing you with your own blade, but that's not enough for me. You two moved into our community, broke into the company, and ruined what has been _months_ in the making," Alan says. He walks up to a set of guards and unclips a gun from each of their belts. He makes a show of partially unloading the barrels, dropping all but two of the bullets into the guards' palms and clicking the gun parts back into place. 

Eggsy rolls his eyes. "Russian roulette? _Really?_ "

"Glad you've heard of it," Alan says. "I won't have to explain."

Merlin curses over the feed. "Haven't they ever heard of _torture?_ " (It's not a particularly comforting statement.)

"Isn't this game typically played by passing a gun around? Is there a reason for two?" Julian says. It's not that he doesn't know. It's more that they suddenly have much less time than they expected, and if they want to survive for the backup, they _need_ to stall.

Alan doesn't see through it, or he hasn't seen very many action movies, because he jumps at the chance to explain. "Firstly, you won't be shooting at yourselves. You'll be shooting at each other. Secondly, there are two guns, because the less contact we have with you, the less chances you have to try and turn the tables on us. Don't bother shooting at us instead, either. There will be more guns on you. I guarantee you won't make it, and neither will your partner."

He's right, too. As he gives one of the guns to Eggsy (handing the other off to a guard to give to Julian), there are several guards that follow him, alert and ready to shoot. They _could_ shoot at Alan, but there's no way to be sure there would even be a bullet in the first chamber, and even if there was, they'd be shot before they could stand up.

Julian doesn't take his eyes off of Eggsy's the whole time. It's somewhat reassuring.

"Shall we take turns?" the older agent says calmly. His words scream professional, as does his face -- if you don't know him. There's concern all over it if you do, in the set of his jaw, the angle of his eyes, the very slight crease of his brow.

"Age before beauty," Eggsy quips. In reality, he's not sure he could raise a gun against Julian.

"Ready, Son?"

Eggsy nods.

Julian raises the gun, presses the trigger. It clicks.

"My turn, then," Eggsy mutters and raises his own gun.

He gets a nod.

He fires. It clicks.

Julian raises his gun again. 

Eggsy grins at him shakily.

It clicks.

Eggsy raises his gun again, but Julian looks away from him, over at Alan, so he pauses.

"Could I have one last smoke?" the older agent says. 

"I didn't know you smoked, _Jack_ ," their captor says.

"My cigarettes and lighter were in my pocket. You must have noticed, since you removed them."

Alan looks amused but pulls a half empty pack of cigarettes and a _very_ familiar lighter out of his pocket. "Sure, why not. It'd be _cruel_ to deny a man his final wish."

Eggsy rolls his eyes again, partly to conceal his glee. Julian's _good_ at what he does.

They exchange the gun for the pack and lighter, and they watch him carefully, but really, once the lighter starts blinking, it's too late. The agent tosses it at the guards. In the seconds before the hand grenade goes off, Julian breaks Alan's arm, uses him as a shield, head-butts a guard, and steals both a full gun _and_ the knife Alan took from Eggsy. Eggsy himself darts into action, using the distraction to knock out two guards and steal their weapons as well. Then he lunges away from the damn lighter.

As he tucks and hits the ground in a mildly painful roll, he belatedly wonders if Julian made it far enough away, too, because the grenade will go off anytime now and --

A hand pulls him to his feet, and he stumbles into a run just before the blast behind him pushes him forward.

"Keep moving," Julian says breathlessly.

Eggsy laughs as they go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun tidbit: the title is the title of an old Bond film, in which Bond uses a cigarette and a lighter to get out of trouble!
> 
> Although this is likely the most action packed chapter, the mission isn't over just yet. I still have about four chapters left in my outline in America. Next chapter will definitely have some Harry and Merlin (possibly also some Roxy) though!


	15. Taking a Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian and Eggsy go for a ride. (Plus, Merlin and Harry react to last chapter's and this chapter's events)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one starts at the beginning of last chapter from Merlin's side. It's also another longer chapter, so enjoy!

When Eggsy's glasses break, Merlin immediately switches the visual feed off so that Percival's can take up the whole screen. This is not unusual. In fact, he's used to agents coming back with their tech in pieces, and he just gives them a glare before handing them replacements, because what _else_ can he do?

What's concerning is the way Eggsy slumps on Percival's feed. 

He curses. Percival is restrained, Eggsy is out, and there's a _fucking ocean_ between him and the agents.

"Hold on, Percival," he says as soon as the intruders manhandle the both of them into a van. No one is close enough to hear him but the agent himself, which is a relief. 

Percival glances at Eggsy.

Merlin bites back another curse. _This_ is why they tried not to give couples missions together, not that anyone expected _those two_ to get together. (Not with James' death so fresh, with Harry's 'death' and 'betrayal' even closer. He almost wants to yell at Percival for using the boy -- or even at _Eggsy_ for using _Percival_ \-- but the way they look at each other tells him he'd be the one in the wrong. Instead, he prays Harry will understand.)

"We'll get you _both_ out of there," he says eventually before turning off the audio on his side of the comm, switching over to Harry's line.

"Merlin?" the man says warily. 

Usually, he'd just head up there to bug Harry, because it was the only way he had even a _chance_ of pulling the man out for lunch or a talk. Using the glasses means business.

"Arthur," Merlin says. "Are you available?"

"I'll be right down."

 

"Who is it?" Harry says as soon as he's through the door. If Merlin couldn't come up to his office to tell him, one of the agents had to be in trouble and might need assistance if they're going to survive at all. This was the kind of situation he was prepared for as Arthur, but really, he never expected it to happen. Mostly, the agents were highly capable and adaptable. Their targets often didn't know anyone was onto them until it was too late.

Merlin glances at him, his jaw tense.

Harry skips a breath.

"They knocked Percival out a minute ago."

Harry swallows. He's not prepared for _this_. "And Bors?"

"Out for the last five or six. They were ambushed in the house."

"The target was _aware?_ " Harry says tightly. It rarely happened, and this mission was supposed to be _easy_. (The last time they had a situation like this was with Valentine, and although he's fine, it was a damn close call. With Eggsy in a similar spot of trouble...)

"I'm not sure how. Bors looked around, but they were both careful," Merlin says and, as an afterthought mostly to himself, adds, "It shouldn't have happened."

"Can they get out of it?" It's a wonder he can get the words out at all with how tight his throat feels, but he's Arthur now. He won't, _can't_ let his feelings get in the way. Not now. When this is all over, he can hole up in his office, get drunk, and make a note not to send Eggsy _off the fucking continent again_ , but this just _isn't_ the time.

Merlin doesn't look at him, instead staring at the unchanging feed on the screen. "I called for backup. American branch."

He bristles at first (why aren't their own agents good enough?) before begrudgingly accepting the logic of it. The American agents are closer. "Columbus headquarters?"

He gets a nod in return.

"I thought they were busy?" Harry presses. Wasn't that why Percival and Eggsy went over for that damn mission anyway?

"They were able to send out two agents, who were on their way back from a mission of their own." The worst part is that Merlin doesn't offer more information. 

It means it's likely not good information. Harry grimaces. "ETA?"

"Nearly two hours."

Not good. In two hours, both Eggsy and Percival could be dead, and the U.K. branch is just _barely_ functioning somewhat well again (as were all of the other branches, to be honest). If they lost two agents? They'd have to try and replace them as soon as possible without taking substandard recruits just to boost their numbers, and Harry himself wouldn't know what to do, because he's been back for such a short amount of time and hasn't even had a _real_ conversation with Eggsy and --

(He wonders if this is how Eggsy felt, watching his feed while he was at the church in Kentucky.)

The sound of a car door slamming comes from the feed.

By the light on the floor of the back of the van, they know when the back doors open. Men Merlin saw in the house before can be seen on the edges of Percival's drooped feed as they come in and haul both agents out and into a warehouse, and all he and Harry can do now is watch and hope that at least one of them will wake up. That the backup will get there before they lose any agents.

 

The feed jerks just under ten minutes later. It's a small movement, but it's enough for them. Percival is awake. 

"An early riser," Alan Kelvin says, and the feed slowly moves to show him standing off to the side. "Can't say I'm surprised. Hi, Jack."

"Alan," Percival says calmly. "I don't suppose you could get rid of these ropes for me."

"You know I can't do that."

"You never know until you ask," the agent says. His feed moves again, this time focusing on Eggsy, who is tied to another chair opposite Percival. It lingers there.

Harry doesn't know whether to be grateful or angry.

"He looks okay," Merlin says, relieved. "A few bruises, but no bleeding besides the nose."

All Harry does is nod, because Eggsy's _still_ not awake, and the sight of his limp body in the chair makes him feel so _hollow_ for the fifteen minutes it takes for the boy to move.

 

Of course, Eggsy's glasses are too broken for the feed to work accurately, so they have to see him through Percival's. 

He moves his head, observing. They can't tell _exactly_ what he's seeing, but it's a sure bet that he's looking for exits, for weapons, for enemies, and it makes both of them so proud. (For Harry, it's bittersweet, because those were the things _he_ was supposed to teach the boy.) When he finally looks at straight at Percival, they test the comm.

"Bors, turn your head left if you can hear me," Merlin says loudly.

It works. The tension in the office doesn't go away, but the room feels less stifled.

"Good. Backup is en route." Though still a good hour and a half away by their estimate. They don't tell the agents that.

 

What happens next is painful to watch. Two good agents forced to shoot at each other, and the only thing anyone can do is wait. Wait for the bullet to come up, wait for the guilt and hatred that follows when only one of them is left. (Harry already hates himself for hoping that Eggsy will be the one still breathing.)

But then Percival asks for a fucking cigarette.

Laughter swells heavily in their chests like the tension still there, and it spills over as the _idiots_ give the agent what he asked for.

The feed dips and swerves and shakes as Percival moves. It even loses sight of Eggsy for a few brief moments as the older agent arms himself and runs away from the blinking lighter. Seeing the man's hand reach out and pull the other agent up is perhaps the most comforting part of the whole thing, but the ticking clock in the corner of their screen doesn't allow Merlin or Harry to feel much actual relief.

Backup won't arrive for over an hour yet, and Eggsy and Percival are in enemy territory.

 

The logical thing to do would be to find a place to lie low and stay there until backup comes, so they steal a car, and Julian uses back-roads to get them away from the warehouse, but even so, it doesn't feel _right_.

With only a moment's hesitation, the older agent switches off his feed and reaches over to switch Eggsy's off, too.

"Pops?" Eggsy says, because they aren't exactly in a safe place where they can talk.

"Son. How about you pick our destination this time?" It comes out like he's asking about _a fucking vacation_.

Eggsy grins and wipes at dried blood above his lip. "I'm in the mood for a bonfire. Don't know about you." There's a normal lighter in the passenger side compartment, and he flicks it open just to make sure it works.

Julian chuckles. "And where would you suggest we go for one?"

"The company sounds like a good place."

"Right at the source?" Julian says softly and then grins back. It seems silly and reckless and outright _stupid_ , but he trusts Eggsy. He knows his partner has a plan.

"They expect us to hide. Why the fuck _should_ we?"

"Catch them off guard as they caught us."

"It'll be fun," Eggsy says, and Julian switches their glasses back on before pulling back onto the road and heading to the company.

 

Harry starts pacing again, and Merlin's ready to toss his fucking mug at his friend.

"Reckless," Harry says angrily, " _unprofessional_ \--"

"Need I remind you that you've done worse in the past?"

"This is the _worst_ time to turn off the glasses. What if --"

" _Harry_ ," Merlin says firmly. "It's back on."

The feed is indeed live again, and it's obvious that the agents are still in the car, but instead of heading to a nearby safe spot, they're going back into town. 

"Percival, you mind telling me what you're doing?" Merlin says over the comm.

"Taking a drive," the agent says pleasantly.

"Percival --"

Harry cuts in with a sharp tone. "Percival, I'm _ordering_ you to turn the car around and find a place to settle until backup can arrive."

"I'm sorry, Arthur," the agent says, "but I cannot comply."

The comm goes out.

 

Eggsy stares at Julian with a pale face. _Harry._ Harry's listening in, watching them, and _of course_ it fucking makes sense what with the mission going south, but knowing that _Merlin_ was there was bad enough.

"Son," Julian says at the stoplight, glancing over at him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ignore them."

"It's hard." The words are strained.

"I know," Julian says soothingly. "Just focus on me."

"I'll try, Pops."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was supposed to have Melanie in it and the next chapter was going to be about the American agents arriving, but this was going to be much longer if I did it that way, so I just moved her scenes to the next chapter. Basically, next chapter Melanie will play an important role!
> 
> There's also a small silly joke in this chapter relating to the old knights of the round table stories. In case people didn't catch it, Percival's statement "You never know until you ask" is it. In the story about the Fisher King (my fav of them tbh), Percival doesn't ask questions that he thinks are rude, but later he finds out that if he had asked, the Fisher King would have been healed of his sicknesses and also Percival would have gotten the Grail. Idk, it's a little joke but I loved it


	16. Single Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Merlin are frustrated, Julian sets things on fire, Eggsy's crawling through the vents again, and Roxy makes some progress.
> 
> Oh, and Melanie makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the biggest yet! (over 2300 words!) I don't expect future chapters to be so long, but we'll see

When they pull into the parking lot, the building looks dead. The lights are off. There are no visible cars. _It's a good time,_ Julian notes, _to burn the place down._

"Can you handle the door, Son?" he says aloud. It's a loaded sentence, letting the younger agent know both that he trusts his abilities and that it isn't safe to abandon their cover. If the building isn't as empty as it seems, it would be best not to give the enemy any more information than necessary.

Eggsy nods and picks the lock with ease (and some things he found in the car). They head in and make their way to the main office, where a fire will do the most damage, and it really would be a comical sight if anyone was there to see it, because they're both still shoeless and bruised as they silently move down the hall.

With a glance over at the younger agent, Julian approaches the office door. There's a tension still rising in his chest, and the sight of the door only worsens it, because they know it's locked heavily. Most of their weapons are gone. Even though he's sure Eggsy could probably pick the lock (he got through the front door splendidly), backup still hasn't arrived, and all he can think about is the last time he was in such a tight spot and --

 ###

James looks up at him from his position against the full-length window and raises an eyebrow. "Would you rather be a rule-breaking agent --"

"Or a dead agent. Despite what you may think, I _do_ listen to your ramblings, dear," he says, letting the rope slip through his hands just enough to bring him down to James' level.

The look on his partner's face is so warm that he doesn't grumble when the man sneaks a kiss. Not even when it makes him swing unsteadily in his harness. 

"Though I don't see why I can't be alive _and_ follow the rules," he continues. The glass cutter is caught on his harness again, and he really is going to have a talk with Merlin about that when they get back.

"Let me," James says and reaches back to pull it out. He untangles it just as Julian yanks on it.

It falls fourteen stories to the ground and shatters.

Even worse, the light in the room in front of them flickers on, letting the secretary coming back for a forgotten file see the two strange men hanging outside of the fifteenth floor. She screams.

"I told you it was taking too long," James says and gives Julian another kiss before pulling out his gun and shooting a few holes into the window.

They barely make it out in the end. James ends up with the bulk of the damage, but Julian bears the weight of it. If only he'd just _listened_ \--

### 

The mission is already fucked, he knows, and he doesn't want it to get worse, so he pulls out the gun he stole at the warehouse. They're already breaking mission rules by not hiding. Why not take it a step further?

Two bullets take out the lock, another for the security system.

"It wouldn't've taken long," Eggsy says, amused.

"We're already out of time. Besides," he says and smiles fondly, "would you rather be a rule-breaking agent or a dead agent?"

Eggsy smirks, walks up to the door, and says, "More advice from Mom?" before kicking the door in.

_Of course_ , someone's waiting for them. 

 

There's a knock at the door, and Merlin gives Harry a brief glance before telling whoever it is to come in.

"Merlin, Arthur's not in his office, and --" Roxy stops and stares at Harry, who hasn't even acknowledged her, still pacing. "I wasn't sure where to find him. Am I interrupting something?"

Merlin pinches the bridge of his nose before answering. "The Ohio mission isn't going particularly well."

"Permission to ask?"

"Consider it granted. Percival and Bors have both been discovered. They've escaped capture once, but --"

"Now Percival is refusing to listen to orders and has shut off the comms," Harry cuts in, glaring at the feed again, his whole frame tense.

" _Percival?_ " Roxy blurts out, taken aback.

"Bors didn't make _any_ protest when he did," Merlin reminds Harry. He turns to Roxy. "And yes, Percival, though it's something I would have expected more from your predecessor than him."

On the screen, the silent feed keeps playing, and they get a good view of Eggsy picking the lock on the front doors of the building. He looks back at Percival and the feed when it opens.

"Permission to stay?" Roxy says after seeing the blood and the bruises. Her tone lets them know she'll stay whether they let her or not.

Merlin just gestures at another chair, focused again on the screen.

 

"Collins was worried Alan would let you slip away," Denise Burne says from her place next to the desk. 

There's no one else in the room that they can see, but she has a gun trained on Julian, so neither of them are keen on taking her down without thinking it through first. 

"Ever watched a movie, Mrs. Burne?" Eggsy says cheerfully. "It's the way it always goes. Bad guys lose, good guys escape."

"You consider yourself a 'good guy', Eddie? _Do 'good guys' break apart families?_ " 

It's obvious now that she's distraught -- her eyes are red and her voice is streaked with pain -- but he couldn't really give a fuck when her words are implying something even worse.

" _Where's Mel?_ " he says, his smirk gone.

"Son," Julian says quietly. "Be careful."

"No, Jack, it was a good question," Denise says. Keeping the gun steady on Julian, she moves over to the door to the file room and knocks on the door. "Sweetie? I need you out here."

The door opens. Melanie's eyes are wide as she takes in the sight of the two men and especially the dried blood under Eggsy's nose. "Eddie, I thought --"

 

He winces, but before she can finish, before he can even interrupt, her mother starts speaking again.

"I don't know how you convinced my daughter to work with you, Eddie, but maybe you should have watched some movies yourself," she says sharply, grabbing Melanie's shoulder in a tight grip. "The rat is always caught."

" _Mom?_ "

" _Mel --_ " Eggsy starts.

Julian interrupts him. "Why don't we talk this out, Denise? Parent to parent." Slowly, he puts a hand on Eggsy's shoulder as if to hold him back. 

" _Are_ you even a parent, Jack?" she says coldly.

_More 'n you'll ever be_ , Eggsy thinks but is careful not to say. The anger he feels, though, he purposefully lets show on his face, because Julian is very, _very_ good at what he does, and he doesn't want to clue Mrs. Burne in.

Not when the older agent is very slowly tapping out a message with the fingers settled across the back curve of his shoulder.

_You. Mel. Vent. Wait. Signal._

Aloud, Julian keeps up the conversation with Mrs. Burne. "I haven't been for very long, no, but I still am one nevertheless."

So Eggsy looks right at Melanie until her brow creases, confused, and then his eyes flit to the file room, the door of which is still ajar. He _needs_ her to understand. It won't work if she doesn't. Or if she doesn't trust him.

_Fuck_ , he thinks but waits for the signal anyway.

"Then maybe you'll understand how I feel when I take your son away from you," Mrs. Burne says.

She turns the gun on Eggsy.

Julian's grip on Eggsy's shoulder tightens. "Eddie's mom always used to give me advice that never made sense _logically_ , you know. In practice, well."

Mrs. Burne's eyes flit back over to him, though she doesn't move the gun.

"Once," he continues, "he told me that when your target has the power, all you can do is _get it back._ "

Eggsy wants to laugh, because, just like in the movies, everything happens all at once. Julian pushes him forward. Melanie rips her shoulder out of her mother's grip. He uses the momentum from the push to dart forward, grab her, and tumble into the file room while being shot at by Mrs. Burne. 

He kicks the door closed, and it automatically locks.

 

All three of them are pale. Missions _aren't_ supposed to go this badly, yet there are two agents getting shot at across an ocean, and one of them isn't even on the remaining feed anymore. Not to mention that the comms are turned off.

Merlin curses.

Harry paces.

"Can you get the comm back on?" Roxy says firmly.

"I can," Merlin says. "But there's no way to completely override it. Percival can just turn it back off again."

"Have you even _tried?_ "

" _Aye_ ," he says curtly.

"Well, _I_ haven't," she says. "Percival might talk to me, if you get the comm back up."

 

"Get away from the door," Julian says, his gun aimed at Mrs. Burne.

"I _almost_ trusted you," she says. 

"By the desk, please."

She moves.

"Now, I'm afraid I won't be able to let you go," he continues, but before he can shoot, there's a voice in his ear.

"Percival?"

Without taking his gun or his gaze off of Mrs. Burne, Julian nods. "Yes, Lancelot?"

There's a beat of silence over the comm. "Can you give us an update on Bors?"

"He's on his way out with Ms. Burne," he says and ignores Mrs. Burne's look of confusion. "I wouldn't suggest contacting him."

"Of course... Thank you, Percival."

"Anytime."

 

"Eddie --"

"C'mon, we need to get the fuck out of here," Eggsy says, working at getting the screws off of the vent cover.

"Eddie --"

"I'll go first since I know where we're goin'."

" _Eddie_ ," Melanie says firmly. "What's going on?"

He pulls the cover off and leaves the screws on the floor. "Look, Mel, we need to get out."

" _Tell me first._ "

"My name's not Eddie," he says reluctantly, but he knows he has to give her _something_. "I'm here with Pops to keep an eye on the company."

"Oh."

"I wasn't fakin' our friendship, I swear."

"But you used me," she says quietly.

"Yeah, and I fuckin' hate myself for it." He puts his hands on her shoulders. "Believe me, _please._ "

She looks at him, and he looks right back.

"You'll tell me everything afterwards?"

"Promise."

"You know the way through the vents?"

Eggsy smirks. "I've been in 'em before."

 

It's not really that hard, in the end, to set the building on fire. First, Julian sets a few small fires with the lighter in the office, in the halls, in the lobby. He makes sure to get the cabinets in the file rooms as well as any other large groups of paper he can find, too. It doesn't hurt that he finds the shut-off for the water in the building either.

By the time he's out the door, smoke is filling the halls. By the time anyone tries to stop it, he estimates the fire will be far too advanced.

 

They go a different way than Eggsy's used to, but this isn't just him snooping around anymore, and the goal is to get out of the building as soon as they can.

Unfortunately, the nearest exterior vent exit is quite a few feet up. He unscrews the cover, pushes it off until it clangs to the ground, and tries to figure out how he's going to get down.

"Eddie?" comes muffled in the vent behind him.

"Just a minute, Mel."

It becomes clear that he's going to have to turn around and go feet first unless he wants to break his wrists.

"Can you back up a bit?" he says.

She does. 

He curls into a ball and twists until his head is by Melanie's. "Try and turn. If you can't, I'll just catch you, okay?"

She nods.

With some awkward maneuvering, Eggsy hangs out of the vent, braces himself for impact, and drops himself blindly to the ground. 

"Eddie?"

"I'm fine. You comin' out?"

There's a small giggle in the vent. A few seconds later, he sees her shoes.

"I got ya." He grab her by the legs and eases her down. "Pops and I stole a car, c'mon."

So they run around the building and to the car together, Eggsy loosely holding his gun and Melanie gripping his free hand. Julian isn't there yet, but he gets her to get into the backseat anyway while he slides into the driver's side and makes sure he's ready to get the fuck out of there no matter _who_ comes out of those doors. (It fucking hurts to think that he might have to leave Julian behind, but backup's still not there, and he has to think about Melanie now, too.)

 

He laughs when he sees Julian walk casually out of the building not five minutes later.

 

"Are we giving Ms. Burne a ride, or is she coming with us?" Julian says as he settles into the passenger seat.

"I'd like to come with you, if you don't mind," she says quietly. "Since my mom thinks I'm already with you two, anyway."

Julian nods and glances at Eggsy meaningfully, tucking his gun back into his holster.

Eggsy starts the car up.

 

He takes the back-roads for safety, but even those are evidently not safe _at all_ , because they pick up a tail within minutes. 

"There's another one up ahead," Julian warns.

"Not a problem," Eggsy says, smirking, and jerks the car around. A bit more pressure on the gas then has them zooming past the first tail. He takes sharp turn after sharp turn, brakes suddenly when necessary, drives in reverse for a street or two.

Melanie grips the seatbelt hard.

Eggsy laughs.

But then Julian tilts his head for a moment and puts a hand on the younger agent's arm. "Pull over," he says, amused. "They're the backup."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've gotten more than a few comments about shipping Julian/Eggsy, and I want to say that although this WILL stay Hartwin, I kind of do too?? (I've been told in my actual fiction writing college classes that I tend to write characters with a lot of chemistry. Like, people were shipping two of my characters who were actual blood related siblings. It was weird.) I really love the dynamic I've built up with them, so I've decided to write an alternate ending. My basic outline is done, and I know right where to branch off for it, too. It'll likely be posted at the same time as the last chapter here. It'll also be posted as another fic (just a oneshot) in the series since the pairing is completely different!
> 
> Also yes, I slipped a coming out of the closet joke in there. Completely unintentional, but I rolled with it.
> 
> Next chapter: the two American Kingsman agents


	17. Distant Relatives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two American spies, two British spies, and a normal teenager spend the night in a house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all!! I'll respond to last chapter's comments when I wake up. It's almost 2am and I am wiped. This is longer than I was expecting, and again, I didn't actually get to what I wanted to in this chapter. They'll probably still go back to London in chapter 19, because that wasn't going to be a long chapter originally.
> 
> Secondly, about halfway through this chapter I started imagining Pennsylvania as Betty White. Feel free to fancast her as someone else.
> 
> This will make more sense a few paragraphs in, I swear.

Eggsy pulls the car over to the side of the road and turns on the blinkers. The first car they saw pulls up next to him, the window rolling down slowly to reveal a solitary man in the driver's seat. He's in his late mid-thirties and dressed in a suit.

"Maryland, New England division," he says pleasantly.

Eggsy quirks an eyebrow. "Bors and Percival, U.K. branch. You wan'na explain yourself?"

Julian chuckles next to him. 

"You first," Maryland says, amused. "Virginia told us you escaped. We were expecting to find you laying low."

"Had to pick up a friend," Eggsy says cheekily and gestures to Melanie in the back seat. 

She waves.

"Melanie Burne, daughter of Denise Burne, who is currently listed as likely involved and highly suspicious in our database. You have interesting friends, Bors," Maryland says dryly but waves back all the same.

"Confirmed involvement," Julian corrects. "Weren't there two of you?"

"Pennsylvania is on her way to our nearest safe house to make sure it's ready for guests. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you the way." The man rolls the window up and drives off without an answer.

Not that they really have a choice. Julian and Eggsy are still shoeless and low on weapons, and the house most certainly isn't safe to go back to, so they're stuck without these two agents. Turning off the blinkers, Eggsy pulls back onto the road and follows the car onto the highway. 

 

It takes nearly a half an hour to get to the safe house. The second car they dealt with before is already in the garage, and an older woman in designer clothing is already waiting for them as they pull up into the driveway. 

"Maryland," she says, not taking her eyes off of them. 

The man walks up until he's a few steps behind her. "Yeah?"

"Get rid of the car. We don't need it traced back to us."

"Yes, ma'am."

She gestures for them to get out of the car, and once Julian complies, Eggsy follows, and once Eggsy's opening the door, Melanie does, too. Maryland holds out a hand for the keys. With them, he silently gets into the car and drives off, leaving the two agents and the teenager with his much older partner.

"Julian," she says, "come closer, dear, I haven't seen you in _years._ "

Her words are friendly, familiar, but her tone is harder to grasp, so Eggsy looks at her warily.

Julian, however, has no such doubts, apparently. He steps forward without a thought. "Madeline, it's a pleasure to see you again." He bows and kisses her hand. 

A smile breaks out on her face. "Ever the gentleman. Please, come in. The pavement isn't very kind to unprotected feet."

 

The inside of the house is nice, if not stale. A bit like a movie set, really. All of the props are there to make it look like a family lives there, but no one really does, and if you look close enough, the fruit is fake. Or, at least in this case, the paintings on the walls look cheap and the furniture is just _too_ nicely set up. 

"I heard about James," she says softly, ushering Julian and Eggsy into one of the bedrooms to change. "My apologies."

"Thank you," Julian says solemnly. 

"I really will miss the boy." Pennsylvania sounds wistful. "He was like a son to me."

"He _despised_ you," Julian says, and there's real humor in his voice again.

"Like a son," she says with a wink and a bit of a cackle.

Melanie looks uncomfortable around her, and Eggsy can't blame her.

The door closes behind them. On the bed are two sets of night clothes obviously taken from their house back in town, and, briefly, he wonders if they had to sneak in or if they just pulled right up. There are also a few weapons.

Eggsy starts right away, pulling his hoodie and shirt off in one smooth movement. "How do ya know 'er?" he says as he slips on the tank top he used to sleep in for the mission.

"Madeline?" Julian says and unbuttons the last three buttons on his ill-fitting dress shirt. "James and I cooperated with her on a mission years back. It was my first year. She took it as an opportunity to teach me a few things."

"James didn' like 'er?" He pulls the bottoms and sits on the bed.

"Don't let it color your opinion of her, Eggsy," Julian says, amused. "He was hard to irritate, but she thought he was cute when he was annoyed."

Eggsy gives him a look.

Julian grins. "He was. Her favorite way to rile him up, however, was to flirt with me. He knew she was doing it on purpose, but it still got to him all the same."

"She seemed 'appy to see ya."

"And I her. I'd forgotten how much I missed her," he admits. "Last I saw her in person was nearly eight years back. I've had video conferences with her through the years. Unfortunately, I missed her and Virginia's wedding a few months ago, because I was in Brazil."

" _Codename_ Virginia or --"

"Codename. She's the American version of Arthur, and she and Madeline have been quite close for many years now."

They walk out then to rejoin the two women.

 

Melanie's crying silently when they see her. Pennsylvania is rubbing her back slowly. 

"I assumed she was aware of her mother's fate," the older woman says sheepishly. "I should have known you hadn't told her, Julian. You're such a softie."

Julian thinks of Denise Burne, cursing and telling him to _just shoot me already you coward, fuck you, you_ \-- and then she was dead and he closed her eyes before starting the first fire. "I didn't think it was the right time to break it to her," he says. 

"She'll be fine," Pennsylvania says.

"Mel's tough," Eggsy agrees, plopping down on the sofa next to her and letting her cry on him. This is, he feels, a good deal his fault.

"Quite," Julian says softly. "I don't wish to be rude, but I believe it may be prudent to discuss our plans."

"Oh, Julian, it's going to be wonderful," Pennsylvania says with a wide smile.

Eggsy glances at her, eyebrows raised.

"It's going to be violent," Julian translates.

"Collins is coming back to the state tomorrow," she continues. "He's been away for a few days, but our sources say he's bumped up his plans to return after getting news of the fire."

"Your sources are very good," Julian observes. "We left less than an hour ago."

"We've been watching him closely for months now," she says. 

The door opens, and Maryland comes through, toeing his boots off before joining them in the living room.

"Welcome back, Maryland," she says before continuing, "Unfortunately, we're short staffed after that SIM card mess, or we'd have dealt with it ourselves."

"We only finished a mission this morning," Maryland cuts in. "But we were the closest."

"We're very grateful," Julian says.

"Anytime," Pennsylvania says pleasantly. 

"But what are the _plans?_ " Eggsy blurts out.

Pennsylvania leans over and pats his shoulder. "You seem like a nice boy, Bors. Would you like to finish off Collins yourself?"

He stares at her.

"Perhaps we can... go with the flow," Julian suggests. 

"It might be better that way," she agrees. "Now is not the time for subtlety, however. We go in, we mow down the opposition, and put a bullet in Collins' head."

Eggsy stiffens, and Julian's eyes narrow. Although he has an idea why the young man reacted so obviously, he won't make a show of it now.

"That sounds good enough for me," he says. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I will go to bed. There are three bedrooms, yes?"

Maryland nods.

"Good. Bors and I shall take one, Ms. Burne and Madeline can take another, and Maryland can have the last." It's clear that Melanie isn't in the shape to be by herself, but he also has an inkling that Eggsy will need company, too -- company to lean on, and she just isn't prepared to give that tonight. "Come, Bors."

The young man gives a curt nod.

 

Eggsy collapses onto the bed the moment the door closes. 

"Eggsy," Julian says gently. "Do you need to talk?"

Eggsy fists a hand in the bedcovers and takes a deep breath.

"Eggsy?"

"I _saw_ it, ya know. On the feed," he says hoarsely. " _Harry_. Gettin' shot. Got a front row seat, I did, and --"

Julian settles at the head of the bed, his back against the headboard, and pats the space next to him. "Come, Eggsy, you'll be more comfortable."

Eggsy pushes himself up into a sitting position and lurches forward, sinking into Julian's arms. "I saw it, _I saw it_. The bullet coming righ' for me, like _I_ was bein' shot, too, and it fel' like I was."

Wrapping his arms even tighter around the younger man, Julian stays silent, encouraging.

"Jules, tonigh', when they wanted us to -- _Jules_."

"You had another gun pointed at your face. I'm sorry, Eggsy."

"I kep' _waitin'_ for the bullet."

"I've got you, Eggsy."

"I though' I lost 'im," he says quietly. "I though' I lost 'im, but 'e was _alive_ , and no one tol' me, and I though' _I_ was goin' to be lost, too. Be'fore I even got the chance to talk to 'im again."

"He's alive. You're both alive, Eggsy."

"I know," he whispers. "Can I --"

"Of course."

 

"Pennsylvania," Merlin says, patched through to her glasses, "how are they?"

"Oh, just fine. For two men who've almost been forced to kill each other, anyway."

"Pennsylvania --"

"They'll be better in the morning, Merlin. Don't fret."

"Will they be fine enough to work tomorrow?" he says quietly.

"They'll be fine, dear," she says, and her voice is less flippant and more gentle. She cracks the door open just enough to see the two agents huddled together at the head of the bed, Julian's arms wrapped tightly around Eggsy even in his sleep, and the younger man's head tucked into the crook of his companion's neck. "Don't worry. You'll get them both back in one piece."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Useless background info: the New England division has 13 agents named after the 13 original colonies in America. Virginia is the equivalent of Arthur, because Virginia was the first colony. 
> 
> Also:
> 
> Yes, Pennsylvania's glasses were on at the end there.
> 
> Yes, She looked into the room WITH her glasses on.
> 
> _Yes, Merlin and Harry saw Julian and Eggsy huddled together._
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter: reactions to that + going after Collins


	18. To Assume...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry throws a bit of a tantrum, Roxy takes a side, and Melanie learns the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... is to make an ass out of u and me.
> 
> Harry's honestly a big jerk in this chapter. His only excuses are that he's tired, hyped on caffeine, and thinks the man he loves has moved on. He'll get better in the future, I swear. It'll just take some people (Julian and Eggsy included) knocking some sense into him.
> 
> Also, I named the New England branch's Merlin Roanoke after the first (I think?) English settlement in America. At one point, everyone just disappeared, and because they were across the ocean, no one knows what happened. Literally, people came over from England and found the place deserted. I figured it was 'mystical' and mysterious enough to be the Merlin role, plus it fits with the theme.

As Arthur, it was Harry's duty to be in contact with the heads of the other Kingsman branches. Once a month they had a chat from their respective offices using the hologram projection program and their glasses to brief each other on the amount of missions they'd completed (successes and failures), any new agents, any general issues, etc. This was the only time most of them interacted with each other.

Harry spent months in the med ward and then the guest suite of the New England branch, because they had the fewest casualties after V-day of the American branches and therefore could spare the manpower to pick him up from the hospital in Kentucky and keep him safe, and Merlin had to coordinate with them on his recovery, so Virginia smiles at them when she appears on the screen in Merlin's office. 

"Arthur, Merlin, it's good to see you both again. Is that Ms. Lancelot back there? Hello, dear," she says, nodding at Roxy next to Merlin.

"Virginia," Harry interrupts, his voice polite but strained. All three of them have been drinking tea in an effort to stay awake, because the time difference and the frustration is wearing on them. "We have confirmation that your agents are in place."

"Pennsylvania's quite happy to see Percival again."

"Yes, well _we_ would like to as well," he says, trying not to snap. It's not that he's angry at her, but it's been a fucking trying day.

"What Arthur's trying to say," Merlin cuts in, "is that Percival turned off his and Bors' audio feed nearly an hour ago and has since turned off the visual as well. Bors' glasses are too damaged for visual."

"Turned off the comm?" she says, startled. "The Percival I knew would _never_ turn off the comms."

"It's not the first rule he's broken today," Harry says darkly.

"Explain."

Merlin sets his tablet down. "They were ambushed back at the house. After escaping capture, we advised them to find a place to wait for backup, but instead, they turned off the comms and went to the company with limited weapons."

"That's _not_ what I asked, Merlin, and you know it. Why is Percival breaking rules all of a sudden?"

"With all due respect," Roxy says, stepping forward, "it's our fault."

The tension in the room grows.

She continues. "Bors needed some time away from London HQ, and during the mission, they've grown very... close."

"And Julian has a big heart. He cut off the comms to shield Bors," Virginia guesses. 

Roxy nods.

Nodding back curtly, the older woman turns back to Harry. "I thought he was your boy?"

"Apparently not," he snaps but lets Merlin put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Virginia, all we're asking for is to be patched in to your feeds. We can't do this blind," Merlin says.

"Roanoke and his department can handle this."

"Please, Virginia. They're our agents."

Harry doesn't say a word. He's not even moving, because he knows that if he does he might end up breaking something, and that's very much not something he needs another branch leader to see.

"They're being supported by _my_ agents, dear."

"Please," Roxy says. "Eggsy's one of my closest friends, and I've known Uncle Julian most of my life. I'm worried about them. _Please_."

"Codenames, Lancelot," Harry bites out, ignoring Virginia's earlier slip. 

Roxy shakes her head. "I respect you, Arthur, but I miss my uncle, and I miss my friend. Kingsman has nothing to do with that."

"We miss them, too, Roxy," Merlin says quietly. "Especially Eggsy."

"Well, at least you get to see and talk to them!"

"As will you, Ms. Lancelot," Virginia interrupts, "if you stick around a while longer. I'll patch you in." She looks sympathetic but also a little scolding, honestly, which she only manages to pull off successfully by being a few decades older than Harry and Merlin and many older than Roxy.

Harry nods curtly. "Thank you, Virginia."

Her image disappears only to be replaced by a view of a red-eyed Melanie Burne shuffling cards.

"Now, dear, have you ever played Bullshit?" Pennsylvania says cheerfully.

"Pennsylvania," Merlin says.

"Keep shuffling those cards dear. _Merlin_ , is that you?" She sounds delighted.

He winces, remembering the time he'd been the handler for a joint mission she was involved in. If Harry was too showy during missions, she was worse. (Much worse, and _very_ fond of excessive force.) "Yes, it is."

"Are you and Roanoke working together now?"

"I suppose so --"

"He's been very overworked, the poor dear."

"I --"

"Oh, you probably have, too. Is Arthur letting you get any sleep? Have you even seen the outside of that office?" she says, concerned.

"I give him _plenty_ of time off," Harry cuts in.

"Well, you don't need to get grumpy with me, dear. Are you doing all of your exercises? They're supposed to help keep your muscles from tensing up, you know. You don't want to undo all that healing."

" _I'm quite fine._ "

"Pennsylvania," Merlin says, trying to steer the conversation away from Harry before the man explodes, "how are they?"

"Oh, just fine. For two men who've almost been forced to kill each other, anyway."

_How_ is that supposed to be reassuring?

"Pennsylvania --"

"They'll be better in the morning, Merlin. Don't fret."

Taking a slow breath, he says, "Will they be fine enough to work tomorrow?"

"They'll be fine, dear," she says softly, and the feed moves. There's a door there, the sound of a doorknob turning, and just a small, narrow view of inside --

Where Julian and Eggsy are cuddling in their sleep. They're not just loosely intertwined, either, but actively holding onto each other as if all that mattered in the world was that they were both still alive. 

"Don't worry," she continues. "You'll get them both back in one piece."

"Thank you, Pennsylvania," Merlin says absently. He nearly drops another mug of tea, but Roxy's there to guide his hand over the desk.

"No problem, dear."

Harry reaches over Merlin and silences their side of the comm with an angry flick of the wrist. 

"Harry," Merlin says cautiously, still thrown from the image himself. If he's being honest, he should have expected it. Julian and James were always closer after dangerous missions, and Julian and Eggsy were forced to shoot at each other. It's no wonder they need to find comfort in each other.

There's an audible crack as Harry puts his own mug down. 

"Harry --"

"Oh, _don't_ , Merlin."

"Arthur," Roxy tries with a wary look in her eyes, "maybe you should take a break --"

"Lancelot," he says firmly, "This is a private conversation --"

"First of all," she snaps, "you breaking things _like a child_ while Merlin tries not to offend you is _not_ a conversation. Secondly, _private?_ I'm close to Eggsy and Julian, too. _If they_ \-- I think that this has been good for them." Harry looks like he's about to interrupt, but she powers on, remembering the peace on Julian's face in his sleep. "I'm not really _comfortable_ , per se, with Eggsy dating my uncle, but they look... sweet together, and you, _you had your chance._ "

Harry frowns, but the fight leaves him, and he sits down in one of the chairs. 

"Harry," Merlin says quietly.

"No, Merlin, she's right. I believe I'm going to go to the Arthur suite for a drink and some sleep. Wake me before they start?"

"Of course."

Harry leaves, his body tense.

"I'm sorry," Roxy says after he's gone, "but it needed to be said."

"Aye, it did."

 

Eggsy wakes up when his pillow starts moving.

"Wake up, dears! Maryland's almost done with breakfast, and even Melanie's up and dressed," Pennsylvania says from the door. She closes it behind her when she leaves.

Eggsy groans. His pillow shakes with laughter.

"Eggsy," it says softly. "I can't move until you get off of me."

"Jules?"

It shakes again. A hand teases his hair. "That _is_ my name."

"'M gettin' up." He does, slowly pushing himself out of Julian's arms, and although he misses the warm embrace, he stands up on sleepy legs and does a few basic stretches. "Gimme a mo', 'n I'll be ready."

There's a rustling on the bed as Julian gets up, too, and sets the covers straight. He walks out into the hallway. "Madeline, do you have some day clothes for us as well?"

"In the closet, dear," she calls back from the kitchen.

Although they expected their undercover clothes, there are two bespoke suits neatly hung in the closet, with two sets of oxfords on the floor. They were the suits they wore when they went after the warehouses.

Eggsy grins at Julian.

 

He's finishing with the buttons when he steps into the kitchen, Julian behind him.

"Eddie?" Melanie says, startled, her mouth full of toast.

"Mel," he says with a wink.

Julian chuckles and sits down. "Perhaps it's about time you told her, Eggsy." He doesn't bother to change his accent this time.

" _Eggsy?_ " she says incredulously. "What --"

"My name," Eggsy says, nicking her second piece of toast and taking a bite. "Eddie's a cover. Pops ain't a Jack, either."

"Is _everyone_ British?"

"Nah, just Jules 'n me." He smiles at her and begins to explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yeah I kinda lied again. They didn't go after Collins, but I swear Julian and Eggsy are leaving next chapter. The scene with Harry, Merlin, and Roxy just ended up being MUCH longer than I anticipated.
> 
> Whoops.


	19. That's It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The American mission ends with a bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet, I think.
> 
> Also, the cigarette thing is actually from a Bond movie. You'll understand when you get to it~

After breakfast, they get ready to leave. Night would be a better time to act, honestly, but they don't have the luxury of waiting around. If they strike now, when Collins has barely gotten back into town, they can get him before he gets a bigger security force and while he's still dealing with his losses. 

So Eggsy slips a few knives into his suit along with a set of guns and a lighter. He's already got a signet ring and his watch, and Maryland assured him they grabbed his umbrella from the house, too.

"And Ms. Burne?" Julian says softly, adjusting his cuffs to hide the knives he has in his sleeves. They're settled in devices used often by the New England branch agents for silent assassinations, because it only takes a flick of the wrist to activate it, sending the knives down quietly, quickly.

Eggsy makes a note to nick a pair before he leaves.

"Well, I figured we'd take her with us, Julian," Pennsylvania says as if it was the obvious choice. "I'll crack the windows open. She'll be fine."

"I'm not waiting in the car," Melanie blurts out.

"You can stay here," Maryland says kindly.

"I'm _going,_ " she says. "You _can't_ leave me out of this. What if they come after me?" 

"It _is_ a safe house, and you'll only be in the way if you follow us in." Maryland looks Pennsylvania. "But it's your call, ma'am."

When it looks like Eggsy's going to say something, Julian wraps an arm around his shoulders and squeezes gently. "Madeline has been doing this for years, Eggsy. You can trust her judgement," he whispers into his ear.

"Oh, I'd hate to leave one of the kids at home, Max. You know that. He's right, though, dear. If you follow us in, you might get _seriously_ hurt."

Melanie stares at her, jaw set. "I almost _died_ last night, and I don't have anything left. I'm _going_."

"You 'ave me, Mel," Eggsy says firmly. "Come wit' me after this. I 'ave a big 'ouse. Plenty of empty rooms."

" _Eggsy._ " Her jaw wavers until a wobbly smile breaks out on her face. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"You have me if you want me, as well, Ms. Burne," Julian says softly, well aware of the fact that she likely resents him for her mother's death. 

Eggsy leans into him, grateful.

"You'll be well taken care of," Pennsylvania cuts in. Her face is very soft, very kind. "I promise."

Maryland clears his throat. "She keeps her promises, too."

It's all too much for Melanie, who hasn't even really had the time to process her mother's death, so she just nods and tries to blink away the tears.

Pennsylvania rubs her back soothingly for a few seconds before looking back to the others. "We should be heading out. Is everyone ready?"

Maryland nods and immediately heads for the garage, keys in hand, and Pennsylvania herself shoulders her bag of weapons and follows him (with one last pat to Melanie's back), but Julian, Eggsy, and Melanie are much slower to move.

Julian glances at Melanie and then Eggsy. It's clear that he's hesitant to actually tell her to do anything. Eggsy reaches up to squeeze the hand of the arm around his shoulders and smiles reassuringly.

"C'mon Mel," he says, holding his arm out as if to half hug her, and when she steps closer, he wraps it around her waist. The other snakes around Julian's. "Time to go, yeah? It'll be a blast. Two of my fav'rite mates, a bit of violence, 'n maybe some explosions."

"Madeline's involved," Julian says dryly, though the look on his face and the feel of his embrace are anything but. "There will _definitely_ be explosions."

 

 _Two of his favorite mates._ It cycles through Eggsy's head at the sit in the car, Maryland driving with Pennsylvania up front next to him and Julian and Melanie squeezed in the back with him. Before the mission, he didn't even know anything about Julian other than that he sponsored Roxy. Melanie wasn't even close to being on his radar. Now, he feels warm and loved, sitting in that back seat with his knees brushing against theirs, in a way that he had only ever associated with a handful of people. It might not sound too bad, but Eggsy had met _plenty_ of people in his life -- people in the neighborhood, people at school, people in the Marines, etc. Only five had ever made him feel that way before.

The first two were obviously his mum and Rian. _God_ , did he love them. He'd given up so much for them because of that love, but he'd never, _ever_ regret it. Especially not now that they were happy and comfortable.

The next three... were trickier. His heart aches just thinking about it. Sure, he was close with his friends back home, but they hadn't woven their way into his _being_ like the three had.

 _Roxy_. He thinks of her now, sees her in the tight ponytail of Melanie's hair, in the resolve in her eyes, in the way she smiles when she sees him. Roxy, who he had silently added to the very short list of his favorite women before the Lancelot test was even half over. Roxy, whose coded messages sat unanswered. He's tempted to pull out 'Eddie's' phone right now and answer them and tell her about the aching gap in his chest he's been ignoring ever since Merlin said _I'm sorry_ so many weeks ago. (It still hurts, though, when he thinks of all the missions they had together while he was kept in the dark. Two weeks in Palermo, three days in Peru, another three in Alaska, and so, _so_ many day missions across the world. So many opportunities to tell him, to say _Harry's alive, Eggsy_ whenever he woke up screaming from the memories of Harry's last feed over and over.)

 _Merlin._ The smooth, low, comforting voice over the line, always with him, even when he's scared that he'll never make it home, that his mother will lose another loved one to Kingsman. He never voiced those fears, _couldn't_ , but Merlin always kept him company through them. Even after Eggsy stopped keeping up his side of the conversation. That voice has soured for him, and Julian's his steady earth now. It doesn't, however, mean that he feels nothing when he hears it. _Fuck_ , he misses their jokes. He misses the bond between them. ( _That_ , he knows, is why hearing him hurts so fucking much.)

 _Harry_. It rips him in half just thinking about the man, honestly, and he absently notes that Julian's linked their hands now, his thumb rubbing soft circles over tense muscles. 

Harry Hart should have meant nothing to him. He was just another posh bastard that didn't understand what Eggsy dealt with everyday. Their worlds would never cross. Until they did, until Harry gave him a chance to have a life again, until Eggsy felt a warm hand on his shoulder, pulling him above the water he was near drowning in. Until he fell in love with a fond smile, a posh voice, and caring eyes. 

But then Eggsy fucked it up like he did everything in his life, and as if that wasn't enough, a bullet 'killed' all of his chances to do anything about it.

He closed his feelings off and did what he could actually _do_ \-- avenge Harry. He avenged him and spent months trying to repair himself, to piece himself back together until he was whole again, but there were _too many fucking cracks_ , and he was convinced he'd never be anything more than clumsily glued together again.

And then Harry Hart strolled back into his life, knocking him over again in the process and leaving him a jumble of pieces and weak bits of dried glue, and it wasn't _fair_.

His edges are sharp, jagged. (Soothed by Julian's careful hand.) He's in so many pieces. (Carefully slotted together, his cracks visible but no longer gaping.) He can't forgive them. (He _needs_ to.)

 

"Eggsy," Julian says softly. "We're here."

He nods jerkily.

"Hey, is it -- is it _them_?" Melanie says with a glance at Julian, too. She knows the basics. She knows he needed space. She knows _him_ well enough to see his cracks. 

"I'll be fine," he says, slipping into his more posh accent but meaning it all the same. It's time for the mission. It's time for him to wrap this up.

 

Maryland holds the door to the lobby open for Pennsylvania, and when he gets there, Eggsy does the same for Melanie with a wink. He steps in front of her afterwards, Julian joining him in shielding her from what's to come.

It comes with a bang. 

Pennsylvania pulls out a carton of cigarettes. She grabs one and sticks it between her lips. 

"Max, dear, do you have a light?"

"Ma'am," a security guard in the lobby says, "you can't smoke here."

"Oh no, dear, it's okay." 

Maryland hands her a gold lighter. 

She flicks it open. It beeps. "I _hate_ these damn faulty things. Do you have another?," she says, tossing it further into the office building. 

The guard startles. "Ma'am --"

Maryland hands her a silver lighter. 

"Thank you, dear," she says, lighting her cigarette finally.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask --"

The first lighter explodes, destroying the front desk and damaging the door next to it. The guard makes to pull out his gun, but he's too late. Pennsylvania's cigarette shoots _somehow_ , and it's so nice and neat that she doesn't even get any blood on her clothes.

"Well, I think they know we're here now," she says cheerfully. "Better keep moving."

They move on, stepping over the body of the guard to meet the other guards rushing out into the lobby. One of them goes for Melanie, because she's just _staring_ at the body on the ground, but Eggsy gets him with the signet ring, and he's down.

"Be aware, Mel," he says, opening his umbrella. This is his weapon of choice, this is the most natural tool he uses after months of bringing one everywhere, but he knows what's best now. "Take it. It'll keep you safe when I can't."

She does.

He twists around, headbutting the guard that tried to come up behind him. A knife finishes the job, and he pulls one of his guns out, too. 

Ahead of him is Julian, both knives out and bloody, ripping through another guard without a thought. Maryland shoots one, two by the door. Shouldering her bag again, Pennsylvania whistles and moves down the hall.

This is the way it goes. They systematically take down all of the guards along the way. Some of the faces are familar -- like Stan Becker -- but most of them are practically faceless. There is no time for talking or sneaking, just moving. (With Melanie bringing up the rear, umbrella gripped tightly in one hand and a look of determination on her face. She refuses to turn back. A few times she even musters up the courage to smack a guard with her weapon, and once there even was enough force behind it to knock out some teeth.)

Pennsylvania opens the last door.

"You aren't supposed to be here," Collins says flatly, his body tensing as he prepares to get up.

"Just dropping in, dear," Pennsylvania says. She raises her gun, smiles apologetically, and fires.

" _That's it?_ " Melanie says, stunned.

Collins is slumped over in his seat as Maryland makes quick work of his personal guard.

Eggsy shrugs.

"They never go out like in the movies," Pennsylvania says sadly, patting Melanie's arm. "I was like you once. So young and disappointed."

Julian wipes off his knives with a handkerchief before slipping them back in his sleeves.

 

They work their way back out of the building, setting up mild explosives at they go. When all is done, they climb back into the car and drive a safe distance before hitting the detonator. 

Melanie laughs hysterically. " _Oh god_ , I'm a murderer now."

Eggsy wraps an arm around her. He tries to be reassuring, but, well, she's not _wrong_. "We all are. Don' worry." 

"I'm a murderer. _And_ an orphan. Oh god, Eggsy, they'll never give me a passport, and --"

"We can get you one," Maryland says, flicking the turn signal on.

"-- where will I go? I'm seventeen, no one will adopt me this late, and _oh god_ , I'll have to start at a new school. _If_ they don't put me in jail, and --"

"No one's going to jail, dear."

"I'll _never_ survive in jail, Eggsy."

"No jail, Mel," he says, pulling her flush against his side. "Promise."

"But a passport, and _oh god, you're British._ "

He hums.

"I'm American, Eggsy. Very, _very_ American. I'll never fit in."

"'M 'ere for ya," he reminds her. "So's Jules."

Julian nods.

"But moving across an _ocean_? I don't know, I --" 

Eggsy soothes her. "Stay 'ere, then. It's okay."

" _Oh!_ I know! You can stay with me," Pennsylvania says, turning in her seat.

"What?" Melanie blurts out.

"Madeline, are you sure about this?" Julian says.

"She's a nice girl, Julian. And she didn't lose her breakfast yet. Helen will love her."

" _What?_ " Melanie repeats.

"I've just adopted you, dear. Roanoke, did you hear that? Tell Helen to set the table for three tonight. And get some of your techies to clean out the spare room."

An amused snort comes in over the comms. "I'll get right on that, Pennsylvania."

Melanie looks at Eggsy frantically. "I --"

"Yes, dear?"

"I --" She looks at Pennsylvania then, takes in the sincere look on the woman's face, and fights back the rising tears again. " _Thank you_."

"Not a problem. I've always wanted a daughter, you know."

 

Three hours later, Julian and Eggsy are boarding a plane. 

Eggsy gives Melanie a long hug. "Don' forget 'bout me now."

"I don't think I could," she says honestly, still not really feeling the events of the last day. "Don't _you_ forget about me."

"Promise I won'."

"There's skype."

"And Kingsman," Julian interrupts. "I doubt Madeline would deny you access to Eggsy's home terminal if you wished to chat over a more secure line."

Eggsy grins. 

 

The plane sets down hours later.

Both of them are awake, still running on the high of the mission and the pressure of what awaits them. Julian has to deal with the consequences of his actions. Eggsy has to deal with his heartbreak.

"Percival, Bors," Merlin says stiffly once they walk out of the plane. "It's good to see you back."

Roxy stands next to him, hesitant.

"It's good to be back," Eggsy says, absently grasping Julian's hand for comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned to have Harry in the end, but by the time I got there, I realized it wouldn't work the way I planned. He'll _definitely_ be in the next chapter, though, and he and Eggsy will interact! Next chapter will also have his, Merlin's, and Roxy's side of the final part of the mission and likely a heavy dose of pining and angst.
> 
> Also, I hope the Melanie and Pennsylvania thing didn't feel rushed. I've honestly been planning that since before I even came up with Pennsylvania.
> 
> And hopefully this was funny?? I feel like I might just be laughing because I'm tired whoops (you have my tiredness to thank for the unintentional Humpty Dumpty allusions btw)
> 
> EDIT: I also wanted to mention - people on tumblr have asked and been expressing interest in a second alternate ending with Harry/Eggsy/Julian. How many people on here are interested? (Again, it would be attached to the fic as a part in the series not as a chapter here, so you can ignore it if you don't want it)


	20. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a drink, and we get his perspective on past events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that this is from Harry's side of things. Things he thinks aren't necessarily true.  
> Also, I know I said this chapter would wrap up the America mission as seen from London, but that got pushed back by Harry's angsting.
> 
> ALSO: If you were concerned about the Julian/Eggsy and Harry/Eggsy/Julian endings, I'm addressing it in the end notes. I think I wasn't clear enough about it last chapter.

When Harry sits down at the desk in the Arthur office, he’s honestly not even sure how he got there. There’s a numbness to him, a numbness that’s swept through his limbs and flooded his chest, leaving him so cold and tired.

He opens the bottom drawer and pulls out the scotch.

 

Harry Hart is not unfamiliar with failure. Not all of his missions have been successes over the years, and he’s had more than a few relationships that have ended bitterly, too, but this time it’s _different._

When the news came in that a Gary Unwin had called the help line with the password, Harry was happy. Lee’s son was his chance to make up for Lee’s sacrifice, and with Lancelot’s death looming over him, the boy was also his way of losing himself in a new project instead of the grief of an agent gone so young. (In retrospect, he knows that Eggsy deserved more. That perhaps Harry should have gone to that police station for _him_ rather than himself, that he should have seen Eggsy for _Eggsy_ and not Lee.)

It seemed to be working, too. Eggsy was very rough around the edges but had _so_ much promise. This was his chance to show Chester that his vision wasn’t faulty. This was his chance to leave behind a legacy, something (some _one_ ) that wouldn’t just change the opinions of a handful of people but of an entire organization, of all of Kingsman now _and_ in the future. When Harry Hart’s name made it into the newspaper for the last time, he’d just be another dead man with no family to mourn him.

When the _Galahad's_ name was passed on, it would mean so much more. 

Or at least that’s what he thought as he waited for Eggsy (for, he’d assumed at the time, the new Lancelot) in the shop. 

He was forced to reassess his own opinions the minute the boy actually showed up, aware and interested and so much more cultured than he ever expected. It was something that he hadn’t necessarily expected from Lee’s boy. Lee hadn’t been uncultured, just, well, not like _this_. (Harry struggled with the realization, tried his best to reconcile the man he’d just barely started getting to know with the boy whom he very obviously did _not_ know in the slightest.)

When he dropped Eggsy off with Merlin, he put it out of mind -- which is to say that he went on his missions and irritated Merlin with all his inquiries in his free time.

Then there was the coma. All he had then was time to think about his life, his job, what he would leave behind if he never woke up, and that only led into thoughts of Merlin, his closest friend, and Eggsy, his legacy. Except it wasn’t as cut and dry as that, was it? He found himself regretting that he’d stayed away from the tests, that he’d left the favor in Lee’s widow’s hands instead of keeping track of them, that he’d had so _little_ time with Eggsy.

These regrets were even stronger whenever he heard that voice. Rough and wonderfully different and _sad_ even if the words themselves were happy. Eggsy was doing well. Maybe he wasn’t fitting in really, but he spoke of another recruit named Roxy and of his dog and even occasionally of Merlin and how they all made it more bearable. He was doing his best, he said one night, quietly and firmly almost like he was _challenging_ Harry to say differently (though Harry remembers the progress reports Merlin gave him, and could never, _would_ never dispute that).

That regret gave him a stronger will. If he could just _wake up_ , he could at least see the Lancelot test to the end. He could see Eggsy do what Harry _knew_ he could.

He woke up. He marveled at the way Eggsy cut their work down simply by sharing his perspective, and he thought, fondly, that _this_ was what Kingsman needed. A new perspective. _Eggsy’s_ perspective.

So he went to the 'gala' content in what he’d achieved so far, and when he later stood there by the train tracks with the knife and his immense pride, he found himself excited at the prospect of those twenty-four hours, because it would finally be his chance to get to really _know_ Eggsy Unwin.

And he did. He learned so much about him. First there were the facts, the little things like what movies he liked, what his sister’s name was, what he used to want to do with his life. Then there were the things he picked up from observing. Eggsy, he discovered, cared with a fervor he didn’t do anything else with. He excelled at it. He talked about his sister like she was his world and his mother just the same. He even cared about Roxy despite the fact that she was the only person in his way to becoming Lancelot, and it only seemed to sadden him that there weren’t two spots open. 

Harry also could tell that Eggsy cared for _him_. It was in the way he looked at him, in the way he grinned and paid so much attention to the way he did this or that, and Harry felt a matching warmth in his chest. This was something he never had with Lee. Lee was kind and friendly and willing to look past the boundaries of class just like Harry, but they were never more than acquaintances by the end. Eggsy? Harry could see this budding friendship between them growing until it was only rivalled by his relationship with Merlin. 

(He ignored how seeing that grin made _him_ grin immediately, how warm it made him feel to see him walk around the office and stare at the front pages, how comfortable and happy he was sitting at the breakfast table with Eggsy in one of his own robes even though Harry had never been able to share his house with _anyone_.)

But Eggsy didn’t shoot JB.

Everything he’d built up in his mind fell down in an instant, and the boy’s _audacity_ to take the cab was the tipping point. He yelled even as he could see the hurt on Eggsy’s face. He left to give himself space, half-expecting that he’d return to an empty house, because his anger, his disappointment built and built and _built_ , and Harry, although perhaps not good at keeping his anger under wraps, knew when he went too far.

(It pained him to think about it on the flight to Kentucky, but he kept telling himself that he’d be back soon. Just a few more hours to get there, a few to finish the mission, and then the flight back.)

 

He woke up in the medical ward of the New England branch’s main HQ in Philadelphia.

He missed quite a lot, Virginia explained when she visited later that day. Arthur was a traitor who almost left the entire organization in shambles just to save his own skin. Not that it worked out for him, because he, Richmond Valentine, and the latter’s right-hand were dead, killed by the London branch’s newest Bors while Merlin and the new Lancelot thwarted the SIM card plan. 

It threw him at first. _Of course_ Chester was a selfish prick, but to actually betray Kingsman? He always thought that the man was loyal despite all his other flaws. He demanded to watch the footage. He needed to see how Valentine convinced him.

Virginia showed him _everything_.

(In bits and pieces. His heart rate went up too much when Eggsy walked into the office, and the doctors refused to back down.)

He approved of the new Lancelot despite the fact that she wasn’t his first choice for the position. He was happy that Merlin listened to Eggsy, too. Most of all, he was happy that Eggsy tricked Chester, that he jumped right into the mission with little warning, that he did what he had to do while wearing the suit like he was _born_ to do so. (His smile waned a bit when when he visited the princess afterwards, but he didn’t give it a thought.)

 

The doctors insisted he stay and heal. Kingsman was doing fine without him, and if he followed their directions, he’d be more useful to London HQ in the long run.

“I’d prefer to recover in my own home,” he protested.

“Galahad,” Virginia said sharply, “I will pull rank if I have to. Merlin has already been notified, and he agrees. The less we have to move you at this point, the better.”

“Virginia --”

“ _No_ , Harry.”

So he stayed there. He moved into one of the guest suites. He met with a physical therapist several days a week. He even prepared to take over the mantle of Arthur, because although it frustrated him to think of being stuck in one place without any action, he knew it was for the best. His hands shook too much to handle the sorts of shots he was able to make less than a year ago, and the months of time he spent in those two comas took a toll on his body. 

One of the things he had to learn to do was to review missions. Branch heads were required to review the feeds of missions that went wrong or had hiccups and the reports of all missions. Merlin sent the feeds and reports to Roanoke for him to look over, because it was best to get used to the way London HQ specifically handled their missions.

(If he looked at Bors’ feeds even though there were almost never any issues, well, Merlin never said anything. It’s both nice and infuriating that the man let him figure out his feelings on his own, which took _months_ of admiring how well Eggsy took to wearing the suits and how he loved doing the missions even if some of them were repetitive. 

It took months of him brushing off the ache in his chest as homesickness.)

 

Harry Hart was in love with Eggsy Unwin, and he only had to wait a few more hours to see him. 

He felt more anxious than he had in years as he sat there in the Arthur office. He’d been back for a few days, but meeting the agents he’d known for years (plus Roxy, who was just as delightful in person as she was in the feeds) and settling into the office itself was nothing. No tension, no worry, nothing until the day came when Bors was expected back in the office. It was a happy sort of nervousness, though. This was the first time he’d be able to see Eggsy up close, to explain himself, and to regain their growing friendship. 

(And maybe, just maybe, it would eventually become an opportunity to develop it into something else.)

It all went south when Eggsy actually showed up.

_“Am I the last to know?”_

The nervousness that had previously made him jittery in a joyful way felt so cold then, and he hid the shaking of his hands, though he didn’t bother to the next day when Merlin told him about the mission. A fuck-up, he called himself in his thoughts, a fuck-up who couldn’t bother to learn from his mistakes. First with Lee, then with his own life, and now with Eggsy. Maybe Eggsy was still alive, but Harry was dead to him, and it hurt all the same.

 

There’s a loud beeping in his ear, and he shuts it off with a shaky hand. 

“Harry?” Merlin says over the comm.

“Yes, Merlin?” He puts his glasses on and tries to smooth the wrinkles in his suit.

“They’re getting ready.” Merlin hesitates. “If you’d like to come down.”

“I’ll be down soon.”

 

Harry Hart lost his opportunity with Eggsy, but how can one succeed when not even given a chance to try?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so when I asked if anyone was interested in a Harry/Eggsy/Julian alternate ending, I meant as an alternate ending -- basically, it would not replace the original ending I planned. The original ending is **still** Hartwin. I'm going to be writing a total of 3 endings -- the Hartwin ending, the Julian/Eggsy ending, and the Harry/Eggsy/Julian ending. You **won't** have to read the ones you don't want to read. I wrote a more in-depth post about this on tumblr here: http://holyfudgemonkeys.tumblr.com/post/120629223847/for-my-waste-not-want-not-readers-on-here-if-you
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I'm still tentatively saying this will be 30 chapters total, but with the way I keep pushing back scenes, it may end up being 31.


	21. In Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Roxy, and Merlin tune into the last bit of the mission. Julian and Eggsy land in London.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like last chapter, remember that not everything in here about Eggsy is actually true. (The biggest example this chapter is through Roxy's feelings)

Roxy’s already there when Harry walks in, and by the state of her clothes and hair, it wouldn’t surprise him if she slept in one of the extra beds in HQ. He knows he doesn’t look any different. Kingsman meant style and grace and danger, but it was excusable on days like this, what with two of their agents practically going AWOL and almost getting themselves killed, and Harry won’t reprimand her for dealing with this no worse than himself. Hell, even Merlin looks rumpled from a quick, stressful sleep.

A man appears on the screen, Kingsman glasses on his face and clad in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his ginger hair carefully styled to be messy. “Merlin and co.,” he says and nods in greeting.

“Roanoke,” Merlin returns. “I’d say good morning, but --”

“Your agents are pissed off, and you’re up shit creek.” Roanoke smirks, fiddling with a pencil. “Don’t worry about being polite unless you’re going to be sincere about it. I deal with Pennsylvania on a daily basis. You would not _believe_ the excuses I get for destroyed equipment.”

“Roanoke --”

“I’ll patch you in in a minute, Merlin. They’re honestly not doing anything mission-related right now, and they’ve got at least another five minutes until they reach their destination.”

Even as he talks, the video feed of him on the screen winks out and is replaced by four separate videos. Two of them show the road through a windshield, the other two the backs of two car seats.

“Now, dear, remember that once you walk in with us, you can’t turn back. Anyone could follow you out to the car, and we may not notice right away,” Pennsylvania says, looking forward.

“I know.”

Merlin startles. It’s not too visible of a reaction, but Harry and Roxy are close enough to him to notice it nevertheless.

“What is it?” Roxy says.

“That’s Melanie Burne,” he says. “The lass Bors befriended to get closer to the company.”

“Wasn’t she there before?” Harry cuts in. The silent feed from earlier is seared into his brain, so of course he remembers the girl Eggsy tackled into the file room while being shot at. 

Merlin nods. “Roanoke assured me the safe house was very safe. They could have left her.”

“They offered,” Roanoke says, his voice coming through the speakers even though they can’t see his face anymore. “Maryland tried to convince her, but she wouldn’t budge.”

“So they let a _civilian_ tag along?” Harry says sharply.

“Pennsylvania seems to think she can handle it, Arthur. It’s worth noting that your boys didn’t take much issue with it.”

“Just making sure we’re clear,” Pennsylvania says. This time, however, she turns slightly in her seat, giving them a good view of the backseat.

What they see has Roxy glancing quickly at Harry, and Merlin stilling. Eggsy is sitting in the middle with Percival and a young girl at his sides, but more notable than that is the way he’s sitting, his head leaning towards Percival and his hand linked with the man’s own. He doesn’t even appear to be paying attention to the matter at hand. Instead, his brow is furrowed and his mouth in a frown. Percival leans into him as well, silently offering strength. It’s a natural, unguarded scene.

Harry leans against the wall and resists the urge to pace.

“She’s young,” Roxy says quietly, because in that car next to Percival and Eggsy in their suits, Melanie looks very much the teenager she is. Roxy may be a brilliant young agent, but she wasn’t so capable at the same age. “Vulnerable.”

“Pennsylvania and Maryland will take good care of her, Ms. Lancelot,” Roanoke assures her. “Bors also seems quite fond of her.”

“Eggsy,” Percival says softly. “We’re here.” He’s looking straight at Eggsy, so they get a close up of both faces on the feeds, and it pains them to see Eggsy look so _lost_. 

He tries to smile as he nods. The feed moves up and down.

“Hey, is it -- is it _them_?” Melanie says. 

Percival looks at her, the feed focusing in on her face. 

They all have a good idea what she means, and it isn’t good. Clearly, Ms. Melanie Burne knows at least _something_ about Kingsman, not just factually, but about its more personal issues as well. None of them say a word.

“I’ll be fine,” Eggsy says firmly, distantly.

 

Overall, it’s nothing different from any other mission. Sometimes subtlety is thrown out the window in favor of getting things done, and all four of the agents there in the field excel in both -- even Eggsy, for all that he’s still new to the organization. First Pennsylvania starts with a classic diversion. Then they move in. Even Percival’s blades, though not standard issue for London HQ, are nothing Merlin and Harry haven’t seen before.

Roxy whistles. “I might need a pair of those.”

“We have plenty of pairs,” Roanoke says, amused. “You’re welcome to one or two.”

She tilts her head, considering, before turning back to the feed.

On the screen, Eggsy is handing over his umbrella, the tool he uses the most on missions. Roxy’s eyes widen briefly. He hated destroying them, hated when he couldn’t justify using one, and that one time the target had touched his after ambushing them, Eggsy dislocated the man’s arm just to get it back. He'd never offered one to her. For him to just give it up… he must be closer to the girl than she expected. It _hurts_ , honestly.

Merlin gives her a sympathetic glance. (He doesn’t even bother with Harry, who isn’t paying attention to anything but the feeds and how Percival’s and Eggsy’s seem to swing to find each other every minute or so.)

 

They cut the feed just after the building explodes. It’s for their sanity, really, though Merlin doesn’t tell Roanoke this when he thanks the man curtly and cuts that communication, too.

“They’ll be back by tomorrow,” he says when neither Roxy nor Harry make to leave or say anything.

“Remind them to hand in their reports,” Harry says tightly. The door shuts softly behind him, but the noise echoes with his irritation in the room. 

Roxy turns to Merlin. “I don’t have any missions coming up, do I?”

“You’re clear,” Merlin says, flipping through the schedule on his tablet even though he knows it by heart.

“Let me know when they land?”

“I can tell you before they do,” he offers.

“Thank you, Merlin.” She smiles weakly.

 

His codes access everything. Arthur needed to be able to check up on mission data including flight plans, of course, so it’s literally all at his fingertips. Technically, Merlin could kick him out, but he’d still need to follow protocol before doing so, and Harry hasn’t actually done anything _wrong_.

He pulls up the flight tracker again. _Preparing to land_ , it says in the corner, _ETA 12 minute(s)_.

Twelve minutes. He’s got twelve minutes before Percival and Eggsy are officially back at HQ, twelve minutes before they’ll meet Merlin and Roxy in the hangar and head up to the main floor.

Twelve minutes until they come up to _his_ office for their brief report, just to confirm there was nothing pressing to go over, nothing that couldn’t wait until a longer meeting the next day or even the day after that.

(Twelve minutes, he finds, is a lot shorter than he expected.)

 

Hearing a knock at the door, Harry takes a deep breath and puts on his best neutral face. “Come in.”

“Percival and Bors reporting,” Percival says professionally as he steps inside, Eggsy at his heels.

Harry can see their linked hands. He stares at Eggsy. “Anything of note to go over?”

“Nothing you aren’t already aware of, Sir,” Percival says.

Although Harry isn’t being subtle in the least, the man doesn’t seem at all fazed by his rudeness, and _it’s fucking irritating_. “Good,” he says flatly. “I’ll see you in two days time for your report.”

Eggsy looks like he’s on the verge of saying something. Percival rubs a thumb over his hand.

“You’re _dismissed_ ,” Harry says. He _can’t_ deal with this now. It was bad enough to see on the screen. In person --

Percival steers Eggsy out of the room but not before giving Harry a glance through narrowed eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! A tiny bit of Hartwin interaction~! Next chapter will definitely have more. I really just needed to get to this point first.
> 
> Also, I'm adding this in the tags (I keep forgetting ugh), but I want to mention it here, too, in case people don't notice: *I am TOTALLY open for Britpicking. I've been out of America before, but I've never been anywhere in the UK, so obviously I'm going to mess some shit up. I'm completely fine if any Brits want to point out stuff (just be polite, please!)*
> 
> (Also, I'm already aware that 'what' is better than 'wot'. I just haven't had time to go back and fix it yet, whoops!!)


	22. Little Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy has a few conversations, some more successful than others.

Julian leads him out of HQ completely, and Eggsy doesn’t protest. They get into a Kingsman cab together.

“To Mr. Unwin’s home,” Julian tells the driver.

“Thanks, Jules,” Eggsy says, leaning his head back against the seat.

“Anytime, Eggsy.”

The ride is short, but when they arrive in front of the house he shares with his mum and sister, Julian gets out, too, after quietly asking the cabbie to wait a minute, so they walk up the steps together.

“We need to go back in tomorrow,” he says and puts a warm hand on Eggsy’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Best to get it over wit’, yeah?”

Julian nods and squeezes his shoulder. “If you need anything,” he says and slips a business card into Eggsy’s jacket pocket. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Eggsy smiles weakly and nods again, turning to open the door. “Night, Jules.”

“Goodnight, Eggsy.”

 

“Egg’y,” Rian shouts when she sees him in the doorway. “Egg’y!”

His mum turns around and grins before giving him a big hug. “I know you said you’d be gone long, but I was wonderin’ if I’d ever see you again.”

He hugs her tight. “Nah, I’ll always come back.” (He sincerely hopes it’s true.)

She pulls back from him and just looks at him, her hands on either side of his face. “Just like your dad. I know you’ll try, Eggsy. Tha’’s all I can ask.”

“ _Egg’y_ ,” Rian says again, squirming in her high chair and nearly tipping the thing over.

He kisses his mum on the cheek before moving and hefting his sister up onto his hip. “’Ow’s my favorite girl? I missed you, did you miss me?”

She giggles and gives him a wet kiss on the cheek in an imitation of him and their mum.

“It’s been so long,” he continues, “and you’ve grown!”

The thing is that she really _has_ grown. It almost makes him regret taking the mission. Almost.

They eat dinner, Rian firmly settled on Eggsy’s lap.

 

He can't sleep. He's in bed, his eyes are heavy, and his limbs are tired, but two hours have gone by without any change. Getting out of bed, Eggsy quietly goes down to the basement so as not to wake anyone else up and pulls out his phone.

“Eggsy?” Julian says.

“I can’t sleep.” It comes out almost like a whine.

“Neither can I,” Julian admits.

“Jetlag?”

There’s a pause. “Partially.”

“Jules?”

“I never finished packing away his things,” he says quietly. “I forgot how much was in the bedroom.”

“Tell me about it,” Eggsy blurts out, because he knows what movies James liked, how he asked Julian out, what kind of agent he was, but he doesn’t know much about the man himself. (It may also have something to do with him avoiding his own problems, too.)

“He has souvenirs from every country he’s been to,” Julian says. “Nothing standard. Just things he found while he was there. He knew where everything came from, and he could tell you exactly what he was doing when he found them. They’re on a mantle in our bedroom.”

“Do you know?”

“About them? Yes, he always told me when he came back. There’s the shell from a beach in Massachusetts. It was shattered from the force of a bullet glancing off it while it was in his suit pocket, but he painstakingly glued it back together.”

Because James, for all his recklessness and excitement in the field, was a very patient man. Julian tells Eggsy this and other stories about him for nearly an hour before trailing off.

“Eggsy?”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you tell me why you really called?”

“Jules –“

“ _Eggsy._ ”

“I miss ‘im,” Eggsy says softly. “I fuckin’ miss ‘im, but it ‘urts to see ‘im.”

“Why?”

“ _Why?_ Jules, they didn’ tell me. ‘E was _alive_ , and they _didn’_ tell me. ‘Ve been ‘avin’ nightmares for months, ‘n –“

“Eggsy,” Julian says patiently, “you do realize that I knew before you did as well?”

“But you – we wasn’t friends back then. They shoulda told me.”

“Have you asked why?” His words are soft and not at all accusatory.

“Even if there’s a reason, why did they single me out?”

“I don’t have an answer for you,” Julian says regretfully, “but I can assure you Roxy meant no harm. I’ve known her for years, and she truly cares for you. It’s also not in her power to make the big decisions at Kingsman. She can only follow orders.”

He doesn’t respond at first. “Yeah.”

“I know it hurts, Eggsy, but the only way you’ll get closure is by talking to them. Alone.”

“I know,” Eggsy says, and he sounds so small, so tired, that Julian almost apologizes. “’M goin’ to bed. Night, Jules.”

“Goodnight.”

 

Eggsy stays awake for another hour, thinking.

 

The next morning, he meets Julian in the shop and they go into HQ together. Merlin meets them just inside.

“I’ll be listening your reports today, gentlemen.”

“Not Arthur?” Julian says.

“He’s catching up on paperwork. Cooperating with the other branches tends to generate more of it.”

So the mission report goes somewhat less awkward than expected, but the rift between Merlin and Eggsy is plain to see – just as Julian’s nudging to get Eggsy to talk more, to react somehow. When they go to leave, however, Eggsy lingers long enough to give Merlin a hesitant nod. It’s not much, but he’s getting there.

That momentary delay, of course, is just enough to have them running into Roxy on her way in.

“Uncle Julian, Eggsy,” she says warmly after a pause.

“Roxy,” Julian greets back, smiling.

Eggsy, though slower to respond, makes a quick decision and sticks to it. “Rox’, can we talk?”

She blinks and then perks up. “I’d like that, Eggsy.”

“I’ll see you two later,” Julian interrupts before leaving. It isn’t his place to be there, and, really, he understands that it might go more smoothly if he isn’t.

They both wave at him. Once he’s gone, however, they’re left staring at each other.

“Eggsy –“

“Rox’ –“

They share a hesitant grin.

“You go first, Eggsy.”

He nods. “I miss you. _Fuck_ , Rox’, I miss you a lot, ‘n ‘m still angry, but – I miss you ‘n Merlin too bloody much.” (The _‘n Harry_ is left unsaid, though they both know it’s there.)

“I miss you, too, Eggsy, and when you didn’t even respond to my messages, I was really hurt. I _wanted_ to tell you, I did.”

“But you couldn’t.”

“No, I couldn’t.” She looks just as frustrated as he is.

Eggsy runs a hand through his hair. “I can’t jus’ – _forgive_ right’ away. It hurts too much. But I – _fuck._ ” He hugs her, relaxing when she hugs him back just as tightly.

“Please just don’t shut me out again,” she says into his shoulder.

He nods into hers. “I promise.”

“Good, you jerk.”

He smiles.

“Eggsy?”

“Rox’?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too. Drinks later?” he offers hesitantly.

“Why not now?”

“Wasn’t you on your way to see Merlin?”

She blushes. “He’s probably wondering where I am.”

“’N I think – I think I need to talk to Harry.”

She looks at him curiously. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Harry n’ then Merlin. Jus’ left Merlin’s, though, so –“

“It might be awkward to backtrack.”

“Yeah.” He hugs her one last time before going up to the Arthur office.

“Good luck, Eggsy.”

 

Eggsy knocks on the door before he can decide to turn around and do it another day.

“Come in.”

“Harry.”

“Eggsy,” he says neutrally, but that’s what he has to do, right? Maybe it was a coward’s move to have Merlin do the reports, but he spent the whole night drinking to try and forget the pain on Eggsy’s face the day before. The pain that Harry _knows_ was put there by him. The pain that matched the feeling in his chest, the pain that began after their awful reunion.

The pain that _won’t_ go away, lodged deep in his chest like no other emotional pain he’s ever dealt with before. Regret, loss, and nothing in his power to do about it.

Eggsy had his break in America. Harry needs his here, at HQ. Just a few days, he tells himself. Just a few days to prepare to push the pain down and try to move on. (If it's even possible. His love for Eggsy surpasses the stupid brief relationships he's had in the past. He tries not to think about this.)

“Can we talk?” Eggsy blurts out.

Harry nods, because Harry can’t deny Eggsy. Not even if it means denying himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the rest of the talk with Harry + a talk with Merlin. I have to check my outline again, but I think we're officially a chapter behind, so it may be 31 chapters before this is over!
> 
> Also, next chapter will hopefully give some more insight on Harry's feelings!


	23. Things Left Unsaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy and Harry 'talk' to each other (but don't listen). Merlin gives Eggsy an explanation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I pulled it off, but this chapter has both Harry's AND Eggsy's POV/feelings in the same conversation. I did this to show how they're not listening to each other, etc. so hopefully that worked! (Also remember that this means not everything they think is actually true.)

"May I sit?" Eggsy says quietly, just to postpone this a moment longer.

A ghost of a smile flashes on Harry's face, because even though he understands _exactly_ what the young man is doing, he remembers those twenty-four hours and all the times Eggsy asked to sit with a bit of a smirk after he corrected him the first time. It was playful and happy and not at all like it is now, but the memory is still pleasant. "Of course."

Eggsy sits, his legs uncrossed, his hands resting on his legs. His gaze travels around the office, though there's nothing new to see.

"Eggsy," Harry says, because he can't just sit here and stare at what he can't have -- not just in terms of romance, but also in friendship. He'd had that before. Now -- now they were _here_. "What is it that you wished to talk about?"

Finishing his look around the office by meeting Harry's eyes head-on, Eggsy nods jerkily. "Sorry. I, uh, I wanted to talk about us."

Harry tenses and reaches into his desk for the scotch. This time he pulls out two glasses. "Would you like some? I think it might ease this conversation a tad."

Another nod. It burns, though. Just the _idea_ that Harry _needs_ alcohol to sit and talk with him burns like the scotch the man's pouring liberally right now, and it burns even more that he needs it himself. They never needed anything before.

"There you are." Harry swiftly drinks a good deal of his own.

Eggsy takes the glass and just holds it for a moment. "I never asked," he says quietly, finally. _Then_ he downs his scotch.

A pause follows in which Harry does the same. "Asked what?" (He knows. He does not want to discuss this. Not now, when all of this is much too fresh.)

"Why."

"Eggsy, you're going to have to --"

Eggsy sets the glass down heavily on the desk. "Why you didn' tell me. Why _no one_ told me. Why everyone else knew but _me_ , when me and Merlin was the only ones who had to watch you _bein' shot by Valentine_. Why you jus' _sprung_ this on me after a mission, all _smilin'_ and stuff."

_\-- be more specific._ Harry puts his own glass down (lightly, silently) so that he doesn't crack it with his grip as his mind races. That's not what they did, that's not what they intended, that's _not_ \-- A sharp, "You don't understand, Eggsy," is what eventually comes out, and he _knows_ it was the wrong thing to say even as he says it.

Eggsy's hands make fists on his legs. His face goes flat. " _I don' understand?_ I don' understand. 'Course I don' fuckin' understand. _You never explained it to me, Arthur._ " Part of him wants Harry to yell at him so that he can yell back, tell the man off, and storm out.

What makes it worse is that Harry _knows_ this, and Harry, masochistic in the way that he needs to drive the damn knife deeper into his own guilt just to deal with it, _won't_ give him this. (He'd never deny Eggsy anything, which is _exactly_ why he's denying him this. Maybe if he pushes him away -- maybe Eggsy will stay away, away from Harry and his power to hurt him, and Harry can just deal with his guilt alone while the young man heals. It doesn't make sense, but pain is good at clouding judgment.) "You never asked," he says coldly. 

"Well, I'm askin' now," Eggsy snaps back. 

"It was for your own good." Another wrong thing to say, even if it _is_ true in a different way, and Harry isn't at all shocked when Eggsy stands up suddenly.

" _My own good?_ So me havin' nightmares all the time, wakin' up screamin' and shakin' and cryin', me wishin' the fuckin' pain would just _go away_ and leave me numb, and me wonderin' if Rox' and Merlin lied to me more than once -- that was all _for my own good?_ "

"Oh, and I suppose you think _I_ spent my time vacationing on some private island? There are sacrifices we must all make, Eggsy, and it's time you learned that." Every word that comes out of his mouth makes him wither a little more inside, because Eggsy's pain is fueling his own, and all he wants to say is _sorry, sorry, sorry_ , but he can't. Nothing's coming out right. _Nothing_. It's all his pain and shock at what Eggsy's saying, and his words are forming against his will. 

To be fair, nothing Eggsy planned to say past asking for an explanation has been said, either. They're _both_ feeding into this cycle, into this pain and anger, and rather than listening to each other, they're just screaming their agony over each other's heads. 

"You wanna talk to _me_ about sacrifice?" Hasn't he spent nearly his entire life sacrificing? He'd do it again and again for his mum, for his sister, because seeing them smiling and safe was all the payment he needed, but to even _dare_ say he didn't know what sacrifice was --

"You don't understand," Harry says again. _You don't understand what I meant, what happened, what needed to happen, sorry, sorry, sorry --_

"No, I don'. We've been over this already, and I don' _fuckin'_ know why I'm even here. Jules said it would help." (The last part is more muttered than not, but the words still travel.) _I just wanted to talk, I just wanted to know --_

It hurts to hear that Eggsy only came because his _boyfriend_ convinced him to. It hurts that Eggsy isn't willing to try harder for Harry. It hurts _so_ much and Harry just accepts the pain, throws it back reflexively. "Then why don't you leave?" _Please don't, Eggsy. Please stay, please let me explain --_

The fight drains out of Eggsy. If Harry's not willing to try harder, then why should he? "Fine." _I just wanted to talk --_

_\-- please let me find the right words._ Harry pours himself another drink as the door slams shut.

 

The walk down to Merlin's office isn't a blur, no, but he's not even sure he consciously made the decision to go there, because his limbs feel numb and useless. Not even the hand that knocks on the door feels awake.

"Come in."

"Merlin," Eggsy says and winces when he hears himself. His voice is rough, pained.

"Eggsy?" Merlin's voice is cautious but worried and warm, and Eggsy can't help but collapse into a spare chair.

"I talked to Harry."

"Oh?"

"He told me to leave."

Merlin looks at him so intently, and Eggsy remembers that gaze from the Lancelot tests. It's like the man's weighing his worth, his potential. 

He shivers.

"Did you listen to him?"

"I'm here, ain't I?"

"Not what I meant, Eggsy."

"I asked for an explanation. I didn' get one."

Merlin's brow creases, and at first it looks like he's going to repeat his last statement again, but then he shakes his head, shakes the idea off. "Would you like one?"

"Is there one?"

"Aye, though you won't be satisfied with it, I'm certain."

He's too drained to get defensive. "Yeah?"

"Neither Harry nor I were satisfied with it," Merlin says pointedly. This is not just about Eggsy's pain, though it's certainly a factor.

"Jus' tell me. I can handle it."

Merlin smiles slightly. "I know you can, lad." Instead of talking, however, he merely opens his desk and pulls out a single flashdrive. "You'll want to be at home when you see what's on this."

"Merlin?" Eggsy doesn't reach out for the flashdrive, confused.

"The files will explain this better than I could." He physically puts it in Eggsy's hand this time, gently curling the younger man's fingers over it. "If you need me, I'll be on the comm."

He murmurs a hesitant _thank you, Merlin_ by the door before wandering out through the shop and into a taxi, exhausted even though the day isn't nearly over.

 

The first thing he does is turn the glasses on. Well, the first thing he _actually_ does is stare at the damn flashdrive while wondering if he should turn the glasses on. He doesn't say anything even after the comm is up and running, but neither does Merlin, so he figures it's okay. There's already a level of comfort there in that silent presence -- comfort that he missed, that he _still_ misses in its entirety.

He plugs the flashdrive into his laptop. There are three folders: Correspondence, Photos, Videos. He clicks on the photos folder first. 

Inside are, predictably, photos. Photos of Eggsy, photos of his mum, photos of Rian, and he feels _ill_ , because these aren't innocent photos. They're surveillance photos of him going in and out of the shop, of him at the pub with his friends, of his mum at work and his sister at daycare. 

"Merlin?" he says, and his voice is much calmer than he is.

"They're safe, Eggsy. I promise. _All_ of you are safe." 

He nods jerkily, clicking out of the folder and into another. 'Correspondence' has coded messages in it (helpfully decoded by Merlin himself, if the footnotes are to be believed) with his mum's work schedule, a list of Eggsy's missions, and even a note on when the daycare has outside time. A few dates and times don't seem to mean anything at all.

"Planned actions," Merlin says gently. "We stopped them before anything could happen."

"Merlin, I --"

"Spend the day with your family, Eggsy. Let yourself process it."

Eggsy nods again but doesn't turn his glasses off -- not as he picks Rian up from daycare or as he orders takeout so that his mum doesn't have to cook or as he kisses them both on the cheek before they go to bed. Nothing else comes over the comm, and he'd almost think Merlin turned it off if not for the fact that he knows the man. He knows that he's there, on the other end, despite the emotional divide between them. Merlin's there, silent and supportive, and Eggsy's grateful.

(Especially as he watches the videos instead of sleeping. There's one of him and Rian playing with JB in the park that has him puking up his dinner, but Merlin calms him down and talks him through the rest of them.

Because he _needs_ to watch them all. He needs to see them and process them and think it through before he can really talk to anyone about it, even Julian.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've had a bit of a breakthrough with Merlin, but Harry and Eggsy are still being stubborn and oblivious... that'll take a few more chapters to resolve, unfortunately. All those pesky misunderstandings!
> 
> A fuller explanation of why Eggsy wasn't told will likely be in the next chapter.
> 
> (Also, I tried not cutting off the fronts of words on the advice of a reviewer, so let me know if that worked!)


	24. When Words Fail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian explains somethings. Eggsy decides he needs to talk to Harry again.
> 
> (This started off super serious but ended up more lighthearted than intended)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a very long time because of a combination of writer's block and being busy in rl. I'm really hoping the rest of the story won't be the same way! I've made some decisions about it, too, which I'll detail in my end note.
> 
> Also, I've gotten some comments with concerns in the past that people shipping Jules/Eggsy is affecting what I'm doing with the story. Please know that everything in this chapter has been planned for a very long time now. (And that Jules/Eggsy will NOT be canon in this fic -- only in the alternate endings. It's solely platonic in the main story. It's just that the misunderstandings have been building for a specific scene in this chapter.)
> 
> Also also, there are some jokes about daddy kink in this chapter. I don't mean to make fun of people who like it! (I admit I've read quite a lot of it myself.) It's just seen as absurd in a particular situation, and that's as much as I can say without spoiling the chapter.

The next morning, Eggsy takes a cab to Julian's.

(He hugs his mum and baby sis' before he goes, doing his best to act like normal, because he _cannot_ let them know.)

 

"They let us know one by one," Julian says as he fiddles with the kettle. "As a precaution, likely. Merlin is very protective of you and Roxy, you know."

"They were lookin' for a mole?" Although he's starving, all Eggsy can do is push his breakfast around on his plate. 

"I believe so. I'm not at the top of the food chain, Eggsy. I can't say for sure what they were looking for or what they actually found."

Eggsy puts his fork down with a soft clang.

"Merlin has the answers you need," Julian continues, turning around to catch the younger man's eyes. "You've already talked to him once. Let him explain."

"Forgive him?"

"Is that what I said?" The look on his face is innocent yet, somehow, piercing. 

"Nah," Eggsy grumbles. "But it's what you _meant_. I think I'm halfway there anyway."

"You're beginning to understand his reasons?" 

"Understand? I dunno, maybe. Still don' like them."

"You don't have to, Eggsy."

 

They take a cab to HQ together. 

"I tried talkin' to Harry."

"Oh?" 

" _Tried._ "

"Sometimes you have to try more than once," Julian says softly. "Have you tried looking at it from his perspective?"

"Has he tried lookin' at _mine_? It was all _'Eggsy, you don't understand'_ and _'Oh, now you want an explanation?'_ He was so bloody condescending and distant."

Eggsy expects another piece of neutral wisdom, another guiding bit of advice, because that's just what he's come to expect from Julian, but that's not what he gets. The man tilts his head and lets out a small sigh. 

"What?"

"I have to wonder exactly what you said to him in return." 

It makes the younger man wince slightly. 

Julian continues. "And in some ways, you know Harry Hart much better than I do, Eggsy. In others, I have the advantage."

Eggsy rolls his eyes, still feeling a little guilty. "I ain't a mind reader, Jules."

"He's jealous," he says. "And you're oblivious."

If not for the fond look on his face, Eggsy would be offended. "Jealous? Of _what?_ "

Julian looks bemused. "Me." He offers no more explanation for the rest of the ride.

 

"Jules, you can't jus' say that and not _finish_ ," Eggsy says as they walk through the shop. He's had a long twenty-four hours, and while the anticipation for this is helping keep his mind off the fucking creepy flashdrive Merlin gave him the day before, it's not helping him calm down any either.

Julian greets the agent behind the counter before slipping into the dressing room and activating the elevator.

"Jules."

"Yes, Eggsy?"

Eggsy gives him a look.

Julian smiles briefly. "I apologize, Eggsy. I can't say I fully understand it myself, which is why I've kept my suspicions from you."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. You see, all of us Kingsman agents have our own... quirks. James was reckless. I'm too straight-laced. In all the years I've known Harry Hart, his has seemed to be communication. Especially when jealousy is involved."

"Jealousy of _what_?" Eggsy practically shouts. "'Cause you can go on field missions and the like? Christ, Jules, I ain't stupid, but I'm _not_ in the mood for this tiptoeing aroun' shit."

The corners of Julian's mouth twitch up, and his nose scrunches. "He thinks we're _involved_ , Eggsy."

Eggsy stares at him. Then, he laughs. It's a good laugh, actually, and even if he's a bit miffed that Julian would make up such a stupid lie to get him in better spirits, well, it was worth it, wasn't it? He already feels lighter, happier. It's going to make talking to Harry without laughing harder, but he was planning on giving it another few days at least before he bothered trying again (if at all), so no problem, right? (The flashdrive still lurks in the back of his mind, but he's trying not to worry about it. Merlin told him they were all safe.)

Julian smiles but shakes his head. "I'm completely serious, Eggsy. I'm quite convinced he's not the only one, either."

"Jules," Eggsy says between deep breaths. "Stop it, or I'm gonna --" The laughter bubbles up again, boils over. "-- _die_."

"Take your time."

He barely makes it to the transport without wheezing.

"Caught your breath?" Julian says.

"Yeah," Eggsy breathes out. "I think so. But, Jules, I called you 'Pops' all the time." 

Julian shrugs.

Eggsy's eyes go wide and then he doubles over, laughing hysterically. "They -- they -- _Jules_ , they think you're my -- _daddy_."

The older man's shoulders shake with badly repressed laughter. "I suppose so."

 

Of course, Eggsy _still_ thinks it's a joke by the time they get to the actual HQ. It doesn't matter how many times Julian tries to lay it out, to explain his suspicions and back them up with evidence. No matter what he does, Eggsy just nods 'seriously' and can't hold back a grin. 

A nagging voice in the back of Julian's head tells him that there _is_ a way to solve this. 

_It's too risky_ , he thinks as the younger man's cheeks go red with repressed laughter.

_It's quick_ , he knows James would say, an amused smirk tugging at his lips. _It's efficient._

_It's too sudden._

_Stop worrying and do it_ \-- practically the man's motto during their joint missions, because Julian knew the wisdom in strategies and plans, but James knew the practicality of acting on instinct. Both approaches had gotten them out of bad situations before. The latter, however, was the only reason they'd had so much time together in the end, wasn't it? Julian had just pushed James away from the blast on instinct and a split-second _I'm too fond of this bastard to see him hurt_ decision, and that was that.

So when he hears the door to the Arthur office begin to open, he acts.

 

Julian swiftly pushes Eggsy against the wall, and it gives the younger man a jolt of panic, because they're at HQ, and HQ is safe, _right_? He steadies himself with two hands on the other man's waist before taking a quick look around. There's just enough time to make eye contact with a frozen Harry Hart, and then -- then Julian is _kissing_ him? His eyes switch forward, shutter closed. It's been a long time since he's been kissed, but instinct has him leaning into it for a brief moment.

Then a door slams. Julian pulls away.

" _What the fuck?_ "

 

"I _was_ being serious, Eggsy," Julian says, glancing at the closed office door. He tilts his head and hums. "Perhaps that wasn't the best way to prove it. You didn't feel anything, did you?"

Eggsy gives him a look. "Jules --"

Julian smiles. "You'd rather he kissed you just then. _He'd_ rather he kissed you." The _I miss James_ , the _I wish I'd been kissing James_ are silent, but present in the distant glaze of his eyes all the same.

Eggsy's eyes inevitably end up at the door. "I gotta --" He makes a frustrated noise. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

"I hope this works out for you, Eggsy, and if it doesn't, I'm sincerely sorry." With a quick, tight hug, Julian turns and heads down the hall.

 

The door is locked. Eggsy kicks it in his frustration, half-hoping it will make Harry tell him off, because at least the man would fucking acknowledge his presence there, right? Well, if he's going to be stubborn, so will Eggsy. He sits against the door.

Eight minutes pass.

"Eggsy?" Merlin says over the glasses.

"I'm comin' by after I settle this, alright?" he mutters. "I just. _Ain't_ ready to have that talk."

"Percival hinted you might need help." The man's tone is straight-forward and tinged with enough warmth that Eggsy knows that he understands about their talk.

He's just not in the right frame of mind to talk about the flashdrive yet. "Kinda."

"Right. There's an emergency route you can come in through. Take the main hall to the south entrance..."

 

"This is it?" Eggsy says skeptically. It is odd that there's this _one_ stone on the western outside wall sticking out slightly more than the others -- especially with how rich and particular Kingsman is. 

"Give it a firm whack."

He does. It sinks in with a click, and when he hesitantly pushes on it again, a large rectangle of bricks swings around like a revolving door. "Have I told you you're the fuckin' guvnor lately?" It makes him wince as he says it, because he's barely talked to Merlin in weeks. _Of course_ he hasn't.

Merlin, wonderful man that he is, brushes it off. "Get him out of his damn funk, will you?"

 

There's a long narrow hallway with no light, and there are twists and turns and places to scan his fingerprints, and all he has to guide him is the assurance that Merlin is working tirelessly to make sure Harry has no idea he's on his way. The goal, after all, is to talk to the man, not scare him off.

And boy, are they going to have a talk. 

(He thinks back on all of it, wonders just what Harry expected from him and their first reunion. 

Not him running across as ocean. Not him purposely creating a distance between them physically and with words. Not him kissing another agent right in front of Harry's office. 

Eggsy's head hurts as much as his heart.)

 

When he finally gets into the office, he comes through the fucking _fireplace_ to a gun pointed at his face, all of which would be hilarious if they were on better terms.

"Merlin," Harry says calmly, "I need to have a talk with you about boundaries later." Then he walks back to his desk, pulls out a small device, and switches it on.

Eggsy recognizes it. It blocks bugs, and in this case, the glasses from listening in.

"What do you want, Eggsy?" Harry says when the younger man stays silent. His voice is tired. If you know him, it's also pained.

"Jules ain't my daddy," he blurts out.

Harry stares at him.

"I mean, I wanted you to be my daddy -- I mean, _fuck_ , I don' want a _daddy._ "

"Eggsy --"

"We ain't dating," Eggsy says, frustrated at himself. "Jules and I. We ain't together, okay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so part of my writer's block was due to my outline, I think, so I stared at it for about 40 min a few days ago and made a decision. No content is being cut out of it. My outlines aren't super detailed, honestly, so all of the things I list on it are big scenes, and I won't cut those out. However, I'm condensing them into fewer chapters. There were things I intended to spend whole chapters on that I just don't have the steam to do anymore, and while my outline was for 30 chapters, it's looking like it will now be 26 instead. I know, that's a big difference. But the chapters will likely all be longer than my earliest chapters (which were all 1000-1200 words long, I think). This one was 1600ish. The next two will likely be around that length or longer.
> 
> I'll also still write the two alternate endings. Those will each be oneshots when I get the chance to write them.
> 
> Next chapter will have the rest of their talk, clarification on the flashdrive stuff, and likely at least Roxy if not also Michelle.


	25. A World of Cliches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more issues are cleared up, and generally there is less angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really, really long wait!

It's more than a little cliche to say that time stopped, but it seems to for Harry, who is suddenly aware of the soft sound of Eggsy's breathing and the way his own lungs whine at how long he's holding his breath at the revelation. This is a dream. It has to be. (Harry will later groan internally at having thought that, but it's honestly what crosses his mind in the moment.)

Eggsy slips his hands into his pockets and practically grinds his teeth in an effort not to say anything else. He needs to give Harry time to process and respond.

"Could you repeat that for me, Eggsy?" Harry eventually says clearly and evenly.

Eggsy stares at him. "I ain't dating Jules. Never was, never will."

"Right then. May I ask about the incident earlier?" It seems laughable that Percival was assaulting Eggsy in front of his office -- it just doesn't mesh with the way they've interacted before, but if it's true, Harry will take _care_ of it. Not that Percival ever seemed to be the type of person who would do that either. Or perhaps Percival thought _Eggsy_ wanted more, too? Eggsy as a whole makes Harry feel so unbalanced and unsure now, and he needs to get a handle on this before he does anything more.

Eggsy flushes. "He was jus' trying to be a friend, yeah? He's still hung up on James, an' I'm --"

"Hung up on me," Harry says flatly, not because he thinks it's a lie, but because he just can't believe it yet. It seems so fucking silly that they've been circling around each other, oblivious. 

He gets a curt nod in return.

"How long?" Harry says then. He needs to know. Was it after his 'death'? Or was Eggsy pining as he watched the church feed? His heart throbs at the thought, but he pushes it away for now.

"A while? Like, months before you..."

"Went away?" he offers, feeling that painfully heavy awkwardness rise up between them, and while he would have embraced it to push them apart before, Harry's doing his damn best to hold onto the lightness they're beginning to feel now. "It was after, for me. I believe being away gave me some... perspective."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Eggsy throws out with a little smirk, and it has the added effect of loosening some of the remaining tension in Harry's shoulders. 

Of course, it's then that someone knocks on the door.

Harry glowers at it, and Eggsy glances at it uncertainly. 

"Harry," Merlin calls through the wood. "It's important."

And he wouldn't interrupt if it wasn't, both of them know, so Harry unlocks and opens the door to admit their friend, who genuinely looks regretful underneath his serious demeanor. 

"Tristan's feed has gone dark," Merlin says.

Harry nods and moves over to his desk to pull up the mission files. 

"I'll be goin'," Eggsy says after a moment of awkward shifting. He makes sure to catch Harry's eye before he does actually leave, just to let the man know he's not angry. They'll talk again when there's not another life on the line.

  


And they do, the next day. 

Harry leans against the desk, a half smile on his face not unlike the kind he usually wears while disarming a bomb. This, he's afraid, will blow up in his face if he's not extremely careful. "So, Eggsy," he says, and then stops right there to adjust his watch.

It only makes Eggsy cringe a little, square his shoulders, and give the older man a quick peck to the corner of his mouth just as reassurance. Then he steps back almost as if he expects to be bitten. His expression, however, is one of determination. He is also painfully aware of how badly this could go. "I'm not goin' to run if you say somethin' wrong, Harry," he mumbles. 

Harry nods, even though he wasn't completely sure Eggsy wouldn't. "We need to talk." 

Eggsy stops himself before he can say that they already _are_. "Yeah." He clears his throat and pushes the topic of feelings off to the side for now. "Merlin gave me the flash drive." 

Harry's smile drops as he nods again, sharply. "You've looked in the folders?"

"I jus' — I don't understand why no one told me." _About the surveillance. About you._

"I was trying to protect you," Harry admits with tired eyes. 

"From who?" Eggsy wants to scream it, but he's tired, too, so the question comes out somewhat quiet. Merlin said he was safe, that it was all taken care of. 

With a quick tap to the side of his glasses, Harry rounds the desk. "Merlin, could you bring up his files, please?" He turns on the display. 

It's a picture of the former Gaheris.

"I thought he died durin' a mission," Eggsy blurts out. There's even a set of recruits sleeping in the dorms waiting to replace the agent.

"Oh he did," Harry says darkly, "but not his own. Kay volunteered after we cleared him."

Eggsy did like Kay, and in a way, knowing the short agent took care of it satisfied him more than if anyone else had. Kay was a brutal bastard when he was angry. (He also had a daughter the same age as Rian, and they had bonded ever so slightly over that during the one mission they shared before Eggsy went to America.) 

Before he has time to do any more than process that, Harry continues. "We knew you wouldn't be able to stay quiet if we told you we discovered your family was being watched. We needed Gaheris to remain unaware while we worked to figure out who he was."

Eggsy opens his mouth to argue. He closes it before any words get out, because he knows it's true. No matter what they would have said, he'd have made sure Rian and his mum were as safe as possible. He would have given the whole thing away. (And he wouldn't have particularly _cared_.)

"Merlin also knew that Roxy wouldn't tell you."

"Not if you told 'er how important it was," Eggsy says numbly. He remembers how ready Roxy was to shoot him right after he killed the other Arthur. He remembers how tense she'd been on missions before, too. ( _'Already gettin' cold feet, Rox'?'_ he'd said, grinning and nudging her with an elbow as they headed out to the plane. _'Don' worry, I got your back.'_ ) He remembers how hopeful she'd been when he talked to her again. 

Harry nods. "I was still recovering when he discovered the surveillance, and he worried they'd come after me as well, but he needed someone to help share the burden. After her, we were able to clear Percival, Kay, Geraint, and Bedivere before discovering Gaheris' deception. Each of them was told about both you _and_ me after being cleared."

"What about Lamorak? Tristan? Gawain?" This conversation is draining Eggsy, but he needs to finish it now, so that he can stop worrying about it so much. He's so exhausted and shaky and numb. 

"We've cleared them as well." 

"After?"

"Yes, Eggsy. We wanted to make sure none of them would interfere in Kay's mission if they were involved."

Which means that they found out about Harry directly afterwards. Eggsy was still the last to know. "Before tellin' me?" 

Harry sits down and looks away from Eggsy. "It was... meant to be a surprise."

It's so fucking ridiculous sounding that Eggsy can't help but laugh. He's tired, and Harry wanted to _surprise him_ , and he can't help but wonder why they didn't just have the older man jump out of a fucking cake _instead_.

The moment the slight hysterical tinge to the laughter registers in Harry's head, he's out of his chair and hesitantly wrapping his arms around Eggsy's shoulders. 

Eggsy, unable to stop laughing at this point, can only lean into him and clutch at his jacket.

"I'm sorry, Eggsy."

They stand there for a while.

  


Eggsy brings Merlin a mug of tea once he's composed himself. It's a tad cold, because he hesitated outside of the man's office, but Merlin takes it anyway. 

_With_ a smile.

"Harry explained it all," Eggsy says when he sits down. "I'm —"

"Don't do it again, okay, Lad?"

"I won't. _Promise_."

"If your feed ever goes silent again —"

"I'll be grounded?" Eggsy tries to smile, but all he can manage is a grimace.

Merlin's not amused either, and when Eggsy looks closely, he can tell there's something wounded about the man's gaze. Eggsy fucked up. Badly.

"I'll listen next time. You just have t' explain," he says helplessly.

"I didn't explain — to protect you." Merlin lays a hand on Eggsy's shoulder, though, and that softens his words.

Eggsy leans into it. "I know."

"Roxy's up watching the Gaheris recruits," Merlin says kindly after a moment. "She missed you." The way he squeezes Eggsy's shoulder lets the younger agent know Merlin did as well.

As if he doubted it at this point. "Thanks, Merlin." Eggsy heads out then, but he knows he'll be back later. They'll be fine.

  


Roxy is out on the grounds watching the recruits take laps with their puppies, and although she looks cool and professional, Eggsy knows she'd rather be cleaning out the armory. 

"Rox'!"

She smiles instantly, and it almost hurts to see it. 

"Eggsy, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

He winces a bit, but shakes it off. "I did promise you drinks, didn't I? Figured I'd hang until you're done with the kids."

" _If_ they ever finish," she groans. "Did _we_ take this long to finish the laps?"

"They're babes," he teases and wraps an arm around her shoulders hesitantly. "Go easy on 'em."

"They're _terrors_ ," she jokes. Then her smile drops. "Some of them thought Merlin was yanking their chain when he told them I'd be instructing them some days."

His eyes narrow, and his arm tightens around her. "Who?"

She smirks slowly and nods to one man, only slightly younger than themselves, struggling with a very disobedient black lab across the yard.

Eggsy's grip loosens. "That one?"

"And his friends. He's the last one left."

He laughs, and this time it's a good laugh. "Yeah?"

"Oh, they went honestly," she says innocently.

"Really?"

"I can't help it if they aren't team players, Eggsy. Or if their dogs like me more than them."

He laughs again, squeezing her tight. "Roxy!"

"I've always believed in giving treats for a job well done."

Eggsy slots his face into her neck, his laughing makes her lose her composure, and it's almost as if there isn't any awkwardness left between them at all.

But it can't last forever. 

When they do finally quiet down, Roxy leans on him. "Eggsy," she says softly, "I was really worried about you."

"I'm sorry," he says, and leans into her, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little concerned this chapter isn't quite written in the same style as all the others, but I'm really happy to finally finish it and put it up. There's only one more chapter in the main story! (And it will finally have Harry and Eggsy interacting in a more romantic way)


	26. All's Well That Ends Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything gets wrapped up, and an old character pops up briefly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is it!!! (At least for the main storyline, haha) So many months of working on this, and it's finally done, and I'm just in awe of myself for keeping with it for so long (even tho part of that was a massive hiatus). I hope you guys enjoy!

It takes time. Roxy stops looking at him like he's going to disappear after two weeks. Merlin starts to snark more in his ear soon after that, and if anything, Harry becomes a tad more sheepish every day. 

As does Eggsy, to be honest. He's all too aware of the time he's wasted in America, and although he did get two friends and a mentor out of it, he feels like he's shattered his own heart for no damn reason. (Perhaps a _bit_ of a reason, he thinks and remembers how painful it was to see Harry again like he had.) It's an awful situation. Not even Harry knows how to behave around him, really, so they're stuck dancing around each other like idiots.

He boots up the Kingsman computer in his office and waits impatiently. Once it's ready, the call goes through almost immediately.

"You okay, Eggsy?" Mel says, running a hand through her slightly frizzy hair. She's in her pajamas, ones that have little Kingsman symbols all over them, and if he wasn't so frazzled, he'd be laughing. 

(Okay, so _maybe_ he does laugh a little, and _maybe_ she rolls her eyes and reminds him of Pennsylvania's enthusiasm. Apparently the woman's wife had a set of slippers made for their new daughter, too, just so that she matched.)

"I need your help," he groans and slouches back in his desk chair.

"Finally ready to listen?" She's amused.

Eggsy can't blame her. She's been trying to help for weeks now, and even Virginia had butted in a few times with a sly comment. Thankfully, the older woman was able to distract Pennsylvania whenever the woman got a twinkle in her eye. "Yeah. I jus' wish I could talk to Mum about him."

"Look, Eggsy, maybe you should."

He gives her a look and snorts. "Yeah, an' then I'll tell her about all the times I almost _got blown up_ , sure."

"She'll find out eventually. If you manage to talk to Arthur, of course."

"I'll get to it, Mel," he grumbles half-heartedly.

"No, you won't. You pined for him here, and you're pining for him there, too. Virginia says he's nuts about you, you know."

Eggsy can tell by the innocent look on Mel's face that she's building up to something, but he goes with it anyway. (He realizes privately that it very well might be something he needs to hear.) "I know he does," he says, feeling a thrill run through him at how certain he certain he feels about it. "But -"

"Roanoke says relationships are built on trust. I'm not a great person to ask for advice on this, Eggsy, I couldn't even look at my own crushes back home," she says and blushes.

He smiles, because it's easy to forget who Mel really is and what kind of life she's had when he's talking to her. 

"So," she says firmly as the red fades from her cheeks, "go talk to your mom, or - or maybe Jules. He was in a relationship, too, right? But start with your mom. And then _freaking talk with him_."

"Mel -"

The girl shakes her head and laughs a little. "You might as well. She's right behind you, you know."

And, of course, when he turns his head, his mum is in the doorway looking a little devastated and a little resigned. 

"I'm heading to breakfast. Keep me updated, Eggsy," Mel says warmly on the forgotten screen before cutting off the call.

"Mum -"

Michelle smiles at him, though it's not as bright as it usually is. "I'm sorry, Eggsy. I've been worried about you, but you haven't been talkin' to me."

It makes him wince. Between the flashdrive and Harry, he's just not felt that he could tell her what was bothering him, and it's the most distant he's been from her since Dean. 

"It's that man," she says, completely sure of her words. "That one that picked Lee."

"An' me," he says. "Yeah, Harry."

She grimaces slightly at the familiar address, but nods and walks further into the room. "Eggsy, look at me."

"I am, mum."

"In my eyes," she says firmly. 

He does, and starts to talk before she can. "Look, I know he's older an' all, but I care about him a lot, an' -"

"You love him," she says. Her voice has a flat quality to it that worries him. 

"I was workin' up to that, yeah." 

"Your grandmother didn't like me," Michelle says, somewhat warmer, "and that didn't stop Lee. You're a lot like him, Eggsy."

He knows this story. He knows that his father moved out of his parents' house and married his mum when they were barely adults, and he knows that that is why he's never met his paternal grandparents. "I wouldn't leave!"

"You would," she says fondly. "Just give me time. I'll try." 

He can feel her tears sinking into his shirt as they hug, and he clutches at her tighter. "Mum?"

Her "yeah?" is swallowed up by his shoulder.

"Can you tell me 'ow you two started dating again?"

 

His mum's advice makes the whole matter seem simple, and he figures it's the nostalgia, or maybe her reluctance to be candid with him about her relationship with Lee, so he goes to another source to get a bit more help.

Julian answers the door after the third knock. "Eggsy! Come in."

He gets right to it. "Jules, tell me 'bout how you and James got together again?"

"Take your shoes off first," Julian chides him with a smile. "I was just about to make dinner."

"I already ate." He takes his shoes off anyway, tossing them into place in the closet before following the other man into the kitchen.

"Well, _I'm_ still hungry."

Eggsy drops into a chair at the breakfast nook. "Jules, _please_."

"I've already told you, Eggsy," the man says gently. "What do you really want to know?"

"It doesn't have to be the full story," Eggsy pleads, "just the basics."

The stew Julian is reheating on the stove needs to be stirred, so he does so, and tsks, adding a bit of pepper in as well. "There are plenty of reasons not to date someone. Especially in our field," he starts. He knows the look on Eggsy's face very well, and he knows just how much time he'd lost with James because of the thoughts that came with it. "But logic is _not_ always your friend."

"What if we fuck it up?" Eggsy mumbles. 

"Twelve years," Julian says, his full attention on the younger man. "I had James for _twelve years_ , and they were the best years of my life. You could have that with Arthur."

"Jules, I just - I don't know if I can, I don't know if I trust him," Eggsy forces out. 

Leaning back against the counter, Julian tilts his head. "Why don't you try? I wasn't sure about James, either, and yet -"

(And yet he'd agreed to go on a date with the man. He'd sat in James' kitchen as the man swung and stretched pizza dough as he'd 'been taught by a good Italian friend', as the man smiled and laughed and listened to him until the pizza was burning, as the man dished out the takeout with a silly sort of confidence. 

They always ordered out on their anniversaries after that, even if they were abroad on missions, and even if Merlin scolded them every time. 

It aches to think about.)

"Ask him on a date, Eggsy. Start small."

 

So Eggsy knocks on Harry's office door the next morning.

Where, of course, his nerves get the best of him, and he ends up blurting out, “Want to go on a date? With me, I mean,” right in the man’s face.

There’s a chuckle back by the desk, and both of their faces redden. It’s Merlin, who can’t and doesn’t bother to contain his smirk as he tucks away his tablet and adjusts his glasses. “About time, Lad,” he says as he slips out the door. 

Harry closes it solidly behind him and simply says, “Yes.”

“Yes to the date, yeah?” Eggsy sticks his hands in his pockets.

“ _Yes_ ,” Harry says again, striding over to the desk quickly.

It bothers Eggsy how easy and blandly the other man seems to be accepting this. “Is it a bad time, or?”

It’s then that Harry really smiles at him, and his cheeks are ruddy, and his eyes are a bit too wide to be calm. “Not at all. Are you in the mood for Italian? Perhaps Greek? It’s a little earlier than I normally eat lunch, but the crowds will be lighter this way.”

Eggsy smiles, too, in a way that he’s sure looks dopey. “I dunno, how ‘bout you surprise me?” He makes sure his voice is teasing, light, and it seems to work well by the way Harry laughs.

“Merlin,” Harry says, one hand lightly on the frame of his Kingsman glasses, “I’m taking my lunch out of the office today.”

 

“So where _did_ he take you?” Roxy says with a roll of her eyes. 

Eggsy doesn’t blame her -- he knows he’s rambling. “This lil’ Italian place. They knew ‘is name and everything.” He drinks the rest of his beer and leans back. “Oh, Rox’, you wouldn’t believe how good it was. Fresh made pasta, and all that.”

“Obviously the company was good as well.” She smiles, amused at his lovesickness, and picks up her own beer again. “Are you and our dear Arthur going out again sometime soon?”

He grins. “Tomorrow.”

 

And the day after that, and the day after that, and if Eggsy hadn’t been in Canada the third day, they would have gone on a date then as well. Not that Eggsy was _too_ annoyed. Coming back from that mission tired as all hell meant that Harry decided to move their date the evening after from a restaurant to his house, where Eggsy could lay on the sofa and smell dinner cooking a hall away. It meant that they spent the night in, watching silly old movies and leaning against each other.

It made him realize that yeah, this was going to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was always about Eggsy's and Harry's journeys back to each other, so this was always where it was going to end. I hope it was satisfying!
> 
> (Also, for anyone waiting for the alternate endings -- they will be posted as separate stories in the WNWN series, so you can go to the series' page and subscribe to that in order to get notifications for when those are posted if you haven't already!)


End file.
